The European Commission expects the eurozone economy to come to a virtual standstill towards the end of year.
It is forecasting growth of 0.1% for the bloc for the fourth quarter.
Economic Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said fears about the Eurozone debt crisis and weakening demand from outside Europe are hampering growth.
But the commission remained confident that there would not be a return to recession.
Also on Thursday, official figures from Eurostat showed that inflation in the eurozone stood at an annual rate of 2.5% in August, unchanged from July's figure.
The BBC reports the inflation figure for all the EU was 2.9% in August, also unchanged from July.
The commission predicted that these would also be the inflation figures for all of 2011.
