OK zonder...Here's some info for you...BUT I know you could have found it for all of us as well...after all, the EU is in your back yard...
Economic Indicators
(1) Western Europe: Economy Recovering From Slowdown
[1] Trends in Trade
The EU economy had been slowing since the middle of 1995, but began recovering in the second half of 1996. Spring 1997 Economic Forecasts of the European Commission predicted that the real growth rate of the EU GDP would grow from the 1.6 percent of 1996 to 2.4 percent in 1997 and 2.8 percent in 1998 and that the recovery would therefore be firm. The reasons given for the recovery were the favorable overseas demand, stable prices and exchange rates, and falling interest rates. EUROSTAT (EU statistical office) reported that the EU exported a total of 1,674.9 billion ECU in 1996 (up 5.5% from the previous year) and imported a total of 1,580.5 billion ECU (up 4%) giving it a higher trade surplus of 94.4 billion ECU (up 39%). This shows that the economy is being supported by overseas demand.
The member states of the EU have been working to achieve the conditions for economic convergence required for participation in the Economic Monetary Union (EMU), but they have had to maintain a balance among business recovery, job creation, and fiscal balance when steering their economies.
[2] Changes in Trade Environment
The EU adopted a New Treaty on European Union (Amsterdam Treaty), amending the Maastricht Treaty at the Amsterdam Ministerial Meeting of June 1997, in which the groundwork was laid for expansion of the EU and launching of the EMU from January 1999. In July, the EU Commission announced "Agenda 2000" in which it designated Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Slovenia, and Cyprus as candidates for negotiations in expansion of the EU and gave notice of revisions of its common agricultural policy, cutbacks in subsidies for regional development, and other changes accompanying expansion, in its common budget. While the EU is looking to expand eastward, it is also stressing stronger relations with Asia. The leaders of Asia and Europe gathered together under one roof in March 1996 in Bangkok at the historic 1st ASEM meeting. In September 1997, the 1st ASEM Economic Ministers Meeting was held at Makuhari in Chiba, Japan where regional dialogs were held to increase economic exchanges between Asia and Europe.
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