Brussels - Eurogroup finance ministers were to meet in Brussels on Monday evening amid growing concerns that the European economy may get stuck in recession until 2010, shedding some 6 million jobs in the process.

Latest projections from the European Central Bank (ECB) suggest euro area gross domestic product (GDP) could shrink by up to 3.2 per cent this year, far more than previously expected.

GDP could either fall by 0.7 per cent or rise at the same rate in 2010, the ECB said.

The European Union's executive in Brussels, the European Commission, in January forecast a drop in eurozone GDP of 1.9 per cent in 2009 and a GDP growth rate of 0.4 per cent in 2010. But it has since said that "the down side risks to economic activity have increased".

As a result of the downturn, inflation is expected to ease further in the coming months, after rising slightly in February.

Earlier Monday, EU employment and social affairs ministers warned in a document that the bloc's "unprecedented recession" could add 6 million unemployed by 2010, resulting in "severe social consequences, affecting households and individuals." (dpa)