The European Commission released its annual Annual Growth Survey 2016 and Alert Mechanism Report 2016 on Thursday. The Commission expects the European Union's (EU) economy to expand 1.9% in 2015, 2.0% in 2016 and 2.1% in 2017, according to Annual Growth Survey 2016.

The inflation in the EU is expected to be 0% in 2015, 1.1% in 2016 and to 1.6% in 2017.

The Commission noted in its Alert Mechanism Report that the economies of Italy, France and Belgium are vulnerable to economic shocks due to high debt and low growth.

"The combination of large stocks of public debt and a declining trend in potential growth or competitiveness is a source of concerns in a number of countries despite the absence of external sustainability risks, as it increases the likelihood of unstable debt to-GDP trajectories and the vulnerability to adverse shocks," the Commission said.