Financial meltdown has been averted in Europe - for now. But the future of the European Union and the fate of the euro zone still hang in the balance. If Europe doesn’t find a way to reactivate the continent’s economy soon, it will be doomed to years of gloom and endless mutual recrimination about “who sabotaged the European project”.
Having suffered a deeper economic collapse in 2009 than the United States did, Europe’s economy is poised for a much more sluggish recovery - if one can call it that. The International Monetary Fund expects the euro zone to expand by only 1 per cent this year and 1.5 per cent in 2011, compared to 3.1 and 2.6 per cent for the US. Even Japan, in a deep slump since the 1990s, is expected to grow faster than Europe.
Read Full Article »