After a dramatic final quarter of 2008, the European economy is facing a sharp slowdown in economic activity. The euro zone is officially in recession with the EU27 likely to follow. The fourth issue for 2008 includes: Current macroeconomic trends and prospects; an overview of ERM statistics for...

With GDP growth stagnating, the unemployment rate continuing its upward trend, and unresolved sovereign debt issues in many Member States, it is not easy to be optimistic about the prospects for EU labour markets. The best news tends to be of the ‘it could be worse’ variety. The second issue...