Claude Juncker, who is also eurogroup president, told reporters he was "rather pleased" with the overall economic situation in Germany. Juncker said he would wait for a Commission report on Germany's budget before taking a decision on further action against Berlin. A formal Commission reprimand will be a further blow to Steinbrueck following new figures by the Federal Statistics Office in Berlin which show a downturn in the country's exports in the last quarter of 2005 and GDP growth of only 0.4 per cent during the same period. This was down from 0.6 per cent in the 3rd quarter and 0.9 per cent GDP growth for the entire year.
