Economic recovery is gathering pace in the European Union and growth this year will be higher than initially forecast, according to European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso.

In a policy speech to the European Parliament in the French city of Strasbourg, the head of the EU executive said structural reforms must be accelerated in the next 12 months and the 27 countries in the bloc must show solidarity.

“Europe must show it is more than 27 different national solutions. We either swim together, or sink separately,” he said.

The latest official forecasts put growth in the EU at one percent in 2010 and estimated growth in the 16 countries that use the euro would be 0.9 percent this year.

Revised forecasts are expected to be announced later this month, officials SAY.

Countries in the EU and the eurozone have been struggling through a debt crisis this year. Barroso said he saw a willingness among governments to accept stronger financial and fiscal monitoring.

He said the bloc, which represents more than 500 million people, must now tackle the imbalances between the countries with strong economies and those performing less well.