Germany’s stagnation slows down European economy

EUROPE’S economy lost steam in late 2005 as German growth screeched to a halt, but European Union finance ministers and economists yesterday clung to the belief that a long-forecast upturn would materialise this year.

As the ministers met in Brussels, Berlin said its economy stayed flat in the final three months of last year, bad news on the heels of France's announcement on Friday that it was close to stagnation in the same period.

Growth in the 12-nation eurozone as a whole ended the year as poorly as it started, with a preliminary estimate from the Eurostat statistics office showing a GDP rise of 0.3% in the October-December period after two stronger quarters.