EU envoy assures shocks from Europe turmoil won't hurt PHL

The top diplomat of the European Union to Manila sought to allay fears of Filipinos of spillover effects from the financial debacle Greece and its EU neighbors are struggling to rein in to avoid recession.   Ambassador Guy Ledoux said the European bloc’s 1.6 percent growth last year and forecast 0.5 percent this year will not get any worse.   “I must admit this is not a high level of growth, but we’re not forecasting a recession,” Ledoux said on Wednesday.   The value of exports to Europe fell 27.7 percent last year to $5.9 billion. The continent got a 12 percent share and ranks as the fourth major export market of Filipinos. In 2010, Filipino exporters shipped out $7.4 billion worth of merchandise to the EU.   Ledoux said good governance and economic fundamentals are being brought to bear on the continent’s economic woes. He pointed out that the EU’s budget deficit fell to 4 percent while the United States government’s deficit is at 10 percent.   Agriculture and fishery products are among the top exports of the Philippines to major European markets.   Ledoux noted that three-fourths of all the coconut oil Europe imports and consumes—P21 billion worth—comes from the Filipino coconut farms.   Over one million overseas Filipino workers are in France, Spain, and Italy while about 200,000 nurses are in Britain. — ELR, GMA News