Prague - Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, who chairs a grouping of the 16 countries that use the euro, said Thursday that Europe may see a "timid" economic revival in late 2010 if new financial sector regulations and stimulus packages kick in.

"If the rules of new regulation really enter into effect and stimulus plans will be enforced on both sides of the Atlantic, I believe that we could see the first signs of economic recovery at the end of 2010," Juncker said through an interpreter during his Prague visit.

"But this revival will be very timid at first," he added.

Speaking after meeting with his Czech counterpart Mirek Topolanek, whose country presides over the European Union until June 30, Juncker sounded caution over additional stimulus packages.

He said that existing European plans aimed at countering the slump, which amount to 3.4 per cent of bloc's gross domestic product, have begun to burden Europe's public finances.

"Our public finances in Europe have already begun to suffer," he said. "Now we need to measure expected effects that these packages should bring in 2009 and 2010 before we start making plans for other ones."

Juncker said that economic forecasts "show deterioration every day" and warned that the bloc may not overcome the recession unless lending is restored.

The head of he so-called eurogroup also backed the Czech presidency in opposition to a single bail-out package for EU's new member states.

Hungarian calls for such a package were quelled at the EU's emergency summit on the economic crisis on March 1.

"When we debate economical or financial problems faced by some countries in Central and Eastern Europe we should not contemplate a common solution, but we need to come up with a specific solution for the given country," he said. (dpa)