International Monetary Fund European director Alfred Kammer said deepening integration of the EU's single market could help close the income gap with the United States. Photo: Jim WATSON / AFPDeeper integration of the European Union's internal market could prove crucial for boosting lackluster economic growth and productivity levels in the 27-member trading bloc, a senior IMF official told AFP Friday.
But with European average per capita income levels -- in purchasing-power-parity terms -- still roughly one third lower than in the United States, Europe must do more to boost flagging productivity and growth levels, Kammer said.The IMF estimates that cutting internal barriers within the EU's single market by 10 percent would lead to a seven percent rise in growth inside the EU.
Although inflation in some European countries remains elevated, among advanced economies it is expected to continue falling from recent highs to 2.4 percent this year and 2.1 percent in 2025, according to the IMF.