Inflation Down By 0.1% In Europe

Consumer inflation fell in both areas of the EU in November according to a statistical bulletin from Eurostat. Inflation in the euro area fell by 0.1% from 0.4% in October to 0.3% in November 2014. In the EU28 similarly the rate of inflation fell from 0.5% in October to 0.4% in November.

There were negative annual rates in Bulgaria, Greece, Spain and Poland with Bulgaria showing a rate of -1.9%. The highest rates were in Romania and Austria with annual rates of 1.5% and Finland on 1.1%.

Euro Inflation Down To 0.3%

Euro area annual inflation was 0.3% in September 2014, the lowest rate since October 2009 according to Eurostat. In August the rate was 0.4%. In September 2013 the rate was 1.1%. The monthly inflation rate in September 2014 was 0.4%.

In The European Union as a whole annual inflation was 0.4% in September 2014 down from 0.5% in August. It is the lowest rate since September 2009. In September 2013 the rate was 1.3%. The monthly rate in September 2014 was 0.3%.

High negative inflation growth was reported in Bulgaria (-1.4%) and Greece (-1.1%) and high annual rates were reported in Romania (1.8%), Finland (1.5%) and Austria (1.4%).

Retail Trade Volumes Up 0.3% Across Europe

March 2014 saw retail trade increase across Europe by 0.3%. In February the increase in trade had been 0.1% in the euro area and 0.3% in the EU28. The annual comparison shows that in March 2014 compared with March 2013 the increase was 0.9% in the euro area and 1.6% in the EU28.

The 0.3% increase in the volume of retail trade on the monthly comparison in the euro area is due to a rise of 1.3% in the food, drinks and tobacco sector while the volume fell by 0.3% in the non-food sector and 0.1% in automotive fuel. In the EU28 the rise was due t rises of 1% for automotive fuel and 0.7% for food, drinks and tobacco.

The biggest increases were seen in Estonia and Latvia with 2.8%, France 2.3% and Romania with 2.2%. The decreases were in Portugal with a decrease of 1.7%, Austria with 0.9%, Germany, Ireland and Slovenia all with 0.7%.

The increase of 0.9% in volume over the year was due to rises of 1.9% in the non-food sector, 0.3% in automotive fuel and 0.3% in food, drinks and tobacco in the euro sector. The increase of 1.6% in the volume of retail trade in the EU28 was due to rises of 3.3% in the non-food sector and 1.8% for automotive fuel. Food, drinks and tobacco fell by 0.1%.

Romania saw the biggest increase with a rise of 13.4% in volume, Luxembourg was next with 12.1% and Hungary with 8.4%. Malta with -2%, Finland with -1.3%, Slovenia -1.1% and Spain with -0.6% saw the biggest decreases in volume of retail trade.

Unemployment Up In Euro Area

Unemployment in the euro area rose to 12.2% in April 2013 a small increase on the 12.1% in March. The EU27 unemployment rate remained unchanged at 11%. The annual comparison shows a marked increase in unemployment in Europe since last year. In the euro area the unemployment rate was 11.2% and the EU27 had an unemployment rate of 10.3%.

The numbers of unemployed people in Europe were estimated to have been 26.588m. The euro area accounted for 19.375m of them. The lowest rates of unemployment were reported in Austria and Germany with 4.9% and 5.4% respectively. The highest rates were reported in Greece and Spain with 27% and 26.8% respectively.

These countries also reported the lowest and the highest rates for youth unemployment. Austria had 8% and Germany 7.5% youth unemployment and Greece had 62.5% and Spain 56.4% youth unemployment.

More Waste Being Recycled

The EU27 generated 503kg of municipal waste per person in 2011 and 486kg of waste per person was treated in one way or another. Municipal waste means the large quantities of waste generated by households, but may also include the waste generated by small businesses and public institutions collected by the municipal authority. Waste is treated in different ways: landfill (into or onto land), incineration ( at incinerations plants), recycling (reprocessing into other products except fuel) and composting (biological treatment of biodegradable matter into another product). In 2011 37% was landfilled, 23% was incinerated, 25% was recycled and 15% was composted. This compares with 2001 figures of 56% landfilled, 17% incinerated, 17% recycled and 10% composted.

The amount of municipal waste generated varies significantly across European countries. The average for the EU27 was 503kg per person. Denmark generated the highest amount of waste with 718kg per person in 2911. Luxembourg, Cyprus and Ireland generated between 600 and 700kg per peron. Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Latvia, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Poland and Estonia generated less than 400kg per person.

Romania was the country with the highest percentage of landfill treatment with 99%. The highest percentage for incineration was in Denmark with 54% of municipal waste being treated in that way. Germany came top for recycling with 45%. Austria with 34% had the highest rate for composting.

The UK sends 49% of its municipal waste to landfill, 12% is incinerated, 25% is recycled and 14% is composted. The EU27 averages are 37%, 23%, 25% and 15% respectively.

Industrial Prices Fall In December But Increase Over The Year

The industrial producer price index published by Eurostat fell by 0.2% in both the euro area and the EU27 in December compared with November 2012. The index increased 2.1% in the euro area and 1.9% in the EU27 using the annual comparison for December. The average industrial producer price index for the whole of 2012 compared with 2011 increased by 2.6% in the euro area and 2.7% in the EU27.

Total industry prices excluding energy were stable in both zones in December. Capital goods and intermediate goods remained stable. Durable consumer goods decreased by 0.1% in both zones and non-durable goods increased by 0.1% in both zones.

Prices fell in most Member States for which data was available except Belgium and Sweden (+1.2%) and Finland (+0.2%). Bulgaria, Denmark, Cyprus and Austria recorded the largest decreases over the month. Over the year, total industry prices, excluding energy, increased by 1.6% in both zones.

European Unemployment Reaches 10.9%

The EU27 unemployment rate reached 10.2% in March 2012, compared with 9.4% Last March. The euro area unemployment rate was 10.9% compared with 10.8% in February and 9.9% last March. The figures mean that there were 24.772m unemployed people in the EU in March 2012, 17.365m of which were in the euro area, an increase of 193,000 and 169,000 respectively compared with February and 2.123m and 1.732m respectively on March 2011. The unemployment rate ranged from 4% in Austria to 24.1% in Spain. The median was Italy at 9.8%. Youth unemployment in Europe was at 3.345m or 22.1% in the euro area and 5.516m or 22.6% in the EU27 in March 2012.

Shares Of Renewable Energy In Total Consumption

Renewable energy seems to have contributed 10.3% of gross final energy consumption in the EU27 in 2008. It compares with 9.7% in 2007 and 8.8% in 2006. Individual targets are set for all Member States by the 2009 Directive so that the EU will reach a target of 20% share of total energy consumption for renewable energy sources by 2020.

Renewable energy shares vary widely among Member States. Sweden had the highest share of renewable energy in total consumption in 2008 with 44.4%, Finland had 30.5%, Latvia had 29.9%, Austria 28.5% and Portugal had 23.2%. The lowest was Malta with 0.2%. The UK was third lowest with 2.2% of renewable energy in total consumption. All Member States increased their share of renewable energy in total consumption between 2006-8. The largest increases were in Austria from 24.8% to 28.5%, Estonia from 16.1% to 19.1%, Romania from 17.5% to 20.4%, Portugal from 20.5% to 23.2% and Slovakia from 6.2% to 8.4%.

Environmental Protection Expenditure 1.8% GDP

Data regarding Environmental Protection Expenditure (EPE) from Eurostat shows the efforts being made to combat the pollution that is the result of the production and consumption of goods and services. EPE is the total investment and expenditure for industry, the public services and specialised producers. The data refer to 2006.

The EPE for the EU25 in 2006 was 1.8% of GDP. Industry spent about 50bn euros in 2006, about 0.4% of GDP, in protecting against environmental pressures. The public sector's share was 0.5% and specialised producers 0.9% of GDP.

In terms of gross fixed capital formation (GFCF) in the EU27, investments in environmental protection were fairly steady at around 1.4% for specialised producers between 2001-6, 0.6% for the public sector and 0.5% in industry, from 0.7%.

Total per capita EPE was highest in Austria in 2005 and the Netherlands in 2001 with around 800 euros per year per person. Italy spend around 600 euros per year per person in 2005. The least was spent by Latvia in 2005 with 36 euros.