The economic revival is slower in the Netherlands than the European Union average, according to figures released on Tuesday by the European Commission.

The Commission expects average growth in the EU in 2014 of 1.5% rising to 2% in 2015. For the Netherlands, the figures are 1% and 1.3% respectively, the Commission said in its winter forecast.

The Dutch budget deficit will be 3.2% in 2014, just above the maximum set for countries in the eurozone. In 2015 the Commission expects the deficit to fall to 2.9%.

The Netherlands has been told it should comply with the 3% limit this year. The Commission will decide in May if the Netherlands should make further cuts to meet the eurozone limit.

The Netherlands is lagging behind the rest of the euro zone because it its troubled housing market which is encouraging people to save rather than to buy goods and make investments, according to the Volkskrant.

In a reaction, finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem said the figures show the Netherlands is climbing out of recession. ‘But we are not yet there,’ he said. ‘The most important thing now is to give the recovery enough room, so that employment goes up.’

Read the detailed Dutch forecast