EU economists say the bloc faces brighter growth prospects this year owing to the falling price of oil and a weaker euro.<br /><br />They predict the economy will expand by 1.7 percent this year, up from the 1.5 percent forecast in November.<br /><br />Pierre Moscovici, EU Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, says: “There is of course still much hard work ahead to deliver the jobs and the investment the european union and the euro area need – that’s why all actors in europe need to use all available tools to strenghten our economic fundamentals.”<br /><br />But the ongoing Greek debt crisis looms large.<br /><br />The EU executive said Greece would grow by a lower-than-expected 2.5 percent in 2015 amid haggling by Athens to relax the terms of an international bailout.<br /><br />Officials also welcomed a European Central Bank plan to buy billions of euros in government bonds and other assets to prevent deflation.
