European Economic Affairs Commissioner Pedro Solbes said on Wednesday he saw "light at the end of the tunnel" for the euro zone economy.
Speaking after the Commission slashed its forecasts for euro zone growth, Solbes said the European Union and euro area economies could not escape the slowdown in the world economy.
Solbes also said that monetary policy in the euro zone was appropriate for current needs.
Noting that the euro zone GDP growth was forecast to slow to 1.3 pct in 2002 from 1.6 percent in 2001, Solbes said: "The prospects are a matter of concern to a certain extent, but there is light at the end of the tunnel."
The European slowdown was not expected to be as severe as in the United States and there would be no recession in the European Union, he said.
"But on the other hand the euro area will not reach its full growth potential until the U.S. recovers towards the second half of next year," he told a news conference.
"We are not ruling out the possibility of negative growth but we don't think (we will see) two quarters of negative growth," Solbes said.
Private consumption remained the largest contributor to growth in the forecast period, he said.