歐盟下調明年經濟增長預估

Europe got more bad news on Thursday, as the European Union's executive arm sharply downgraded growth forecasts for the region. This has major implications for a continent buffeted by the financial and political crises in Italy and Greece.

星期四，歐洲有更多的壞消息出臺。歐盟的執行機構歐盟委員會大幅度下調了對該地區經濟增長的預估。這一行動對遭受意大利和希臘的金融與政治危機打擊的歐洲地區很有意義。

The new figures predict economic growth across the European Union of only 0.6 percent next year - and just 0.5 percent in the 17-nation eurozone. That is substantially less than the 1.8 percent growth predictions earlier this year for the euro currency area.

新的預測指出，歐盟明年的經濟增幅只有0.6%，而由17個國家組成的歐元區明年的經濟增幅只有0.5%。這個預估大大低於今年早些時候對歐元區所做的1.8%的經濟增長幅度的預估。

European Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn delivered a sober assessment of the region's problems at a press conference in Brussels.

在布魯塞爾舉行的一次記者會上，歐盟經濟與貨幣事務專員瑞恩談到了針對該地區問題所做的一項嚴肅的評估。

"GDP is now forecast to stagnate around the turn of this year, with some member states, in fact, experiencing a contraction," said Rehn.

瑞恩說：“根據這項預估，今年年底至明年年初的時候，GDP的增長將處於停滯階段，而實際上一些成員國還將經歷經濟收縮。”

Rehn called on five EU members - Belgium, Cyprus, Hungary, Malta and Poland - to cut their budgets or risk facing sanctions. He also summed up International worries about the ailing region.

瑞恩要求歐盟5個成員國--比利時、塞浦路斯、匈牙利、馬爾他和波蘭削減他們的預算，否則就將面臨制裁。他概括了國際社會對這個衰退的地區的擔憂。

"Concern about the sovereign debt crisis in several euro-area member states, together with the weakening global economic conditions, have led to a sharp fall in confidence since April this year," said Rehn.

瑞恩說：“自從今年4月以來，國際社會對歐元區幾個成員國發生的主權債務危機以及正在惡化的全球經濟狀況感到擔心，這已導致人們信心的大幅下降。”

Rehn is only the latest official sounding a warning. International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde is urging "clarity" from Italy and Greece, which face political as well as economic turmoil. And noting the sluggish growth and high unemployment in the United States, she is warning of a "lost decade" ahead for the world economy.

瑞恩只是發出這項警告的最後一位官員。國際貨幣基金組織總裁拉加德正在敦促意大利和希臘“局勢明朗化”，這兩個國家都面臨政治和經濟動亂。注意到美國的經濟增長緩慢以及高失業率，她發出了世界經濟將會進入“迷失的10年”的警告。"Our sense is that if we do not act boldly and if we do not act together, the economy around the world runs the risk of a downward spiral of uncertainty, financial instability and a potential collapse of global demand," said Lagarde.

拉加德說：“我們感到，如果我們不採取大膽的行動，如果我們不聯合行動，全球經濟將面臨螺旋式下滑的風險，造成局勢不確定、金融動盪和可能出現全球需求崩潰的困境。”

A Reuters report said officials from Germany and France have discussed a fundamental overhaul of the European Union, to create a smaller, more integrated eurozone group compared to the rest of the 27-member EU. Officially, however, both France and Germany say it is essential the eurozone remains intact.

路透社的一項報導說，德國和法國的官員已討論了對歐盟進行根本性的全面改革，創造一個相對於歐盟中的其他國家而言較小並且更加融合的歐元區組織，目前歐盟一共有27個成員國。然而，法國和德國的官員在正式的場合則說，現存的歐元區保持完整是很重要的。

Additionally, analyst Philippe Moreau Defarges, of the Paris-based French Institute of International Relations, said creating these two European systems would be problematic in practice.

設在巴黎的法國國際關係研究所的分析員德法奇說，創建兩個歐洲體系在實踐中是會出問題的。

"It's very difficult because the juridical issue… in English you say 'the devil is in the details' - I would say what is important is in the details. It means that, of course, you can imagine a very ambitious scheme, very ambitious modification on the paper, but when you want to implement that… it's much more difficult," said Defarges.

德法奇說：“這是很困難的，因爲有司法管轄權的問題。英語中有句成語叫作‘細節決定一切’。我想說的也是，細節十分重要。這就是說，你可以設想一個非常雄心勃勃的計劃，可以在紙上進行雄心勃勃的修改，但當你想實施它的時候，那就難辦多了。”

What is certain is that the eurozone crisis is likely to dominate the news here for the months to come, with pressure growing for European leaders to come up with a comprehensive and sustainable solution.

可以肯定的是，歐元區危機很可能在今後幾個月仍然是此間的一個主要新聞，歐洲領導人受到越來越大的壓力，要求他們拿出一種全面和可持續性的解決方案。