The economic situation continues to be dominated by sovereign debt problems in the eurozone countries. As these continue to remain unresolved, general sentiment has turned negative amid fears of a new second phase of the Great Recession of 2008–9. The third issue for 2011 includes: summary;...

Consensus forecasts point to slowing growth in the EU during 2012, with some at least indicating a return to recession. Sovereign debt issues in a growing number of Member States – the response to them and anxieties regarding their eventual resolution – are one important contributing factor....

Significant ECB interventions in December 2011 and February 2012 have helped to stabilise, at least in the short-term, Eurozone sovereign debt concerns. A fresh focus on the essentials of economic activity reveals a weakening EU economy with an increasing likelihood that the Union is already in...

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...

After the output falls between the second quarters of 2008 and 2009, the EU economy is again very close to recession. Real GDP has contracted in two of the last three quarters: quarter-on-quarter, real GDP growth was -0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2011, 0% in the first quarter of 2012 and is...

While the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis appears to have entered a less acute phase, the economic outlook for the coming months remains poor, with weak growth predicted and unemployment continuing to increase. The fourth issue for 2012 includes: macroeconomic trends and prospects; job creation...

The global economy has begun to strengthen over the last quarter but the euro crisis and and associated fiscal policy responses continue to serve as a drag on European growth. This first issue for 2013 includes: Macroeconomic trends and prospects; Job creation and job losses at a glance (1/1/13...

As in the first quarter of the year, the European economic outlook remains uncertain, the current recession being forecast to give way to modest growth in 2014. In June, the ECB revised its forecasts for growth in 2013 down to -0.6%, raising those for 2014 to +1.1%. This second issue for 2013...

Prospects for growth in the EU are improving thanks to the combination of a smaller fiscal drag, stronger external demand and a gradual improvement in private sector lending conditions. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts that output will increase in the euro zone by 1.1% in 2014...

Recent months have seen an improvement in economic outlook, a calming of the sovereign debt crisis and a stabilisation of unemployment rates. ECB President Mario Draghi was, however, cautious in his assessment of the emergent European recovery in January, calling it ‘modest’, ‘weak’ and...