Recent economic data confirm the European Central Bank's view of a modest and gradual recovery this year, which will later strengthen, said ECB Vice President Lucas Papademos on Monday. "The latest information that we have, based on data and indicators, confirms our earlier assessment of a gradual and modest recovery in the euro area in 2004, which can be expected to strengthen further in the coming year," Papademos told reporters after addressing a conference organised by the Bank of Spain. Papademos declined to comment on ethics or central bank independence issues, after Germany's central bank head Ernst Welteke stepped down in a row over a hotel bill paid by a commercial bank. He also would not say whether the ECB's Governing Council would discuss its code of ethics at its meeting on Thursday.|||