BRUSSELS, May 5 (UPI) -- The European Commission forecast 1 percent economic growth for its 27 member states in 2010.
In a report released Wednesday, the commission said the labor market had shown improvement recently, but unemployment was expected to peak "at close to 10 percent in the European Union" this year.
The worry that has crowded headlines recently, public debt, would rise to 7.25 percent of the gross domestic product "before falling back slightly in 2011."
EU guidelines call for member states to hold government debt at under 3 percent of their GDP.
On the high end, the report said Britain's deficit expected to reach 12.2 percent of GDP this year. The deficit is projected to reach 5 percent in Germany, the largest EU economy.
The Commission said, "A successful completion of the financial support to Greece can be expected to increase investor and consumer confidence."
Public debt in Greece has already reached 13.6 percent of the GDP. Both EU member states and the International Monetary Fund have established a $143 billion loan package for Greece to dig itself out of debt.
Due to its economy remaining in recession, Greece's deficit is projected to remain at 10 percent of GDP through 2011, the reports said.
