The EU declared yesterday that the business cycle is moving along in Europe. GDPs in the euro zone grew 0.3% in the second quarter, marking the end of a year and a half of recession. Figures from the manufacturing and services sector support the view that the region is expanding economically.
But jobs are still the Achilles heel for Europe. They simply have not returned to the region. For this reason, even though experts are optimistic about the economic future in the euro zone, the recovery will take a long time.
Growth will take a particularly long time in Spain, which according to a panel of experts consulted by Bloomberg, will take the longest of all European countries to recover. Taking such a long time to get out of the recession will, as the EU warns, create an urgent need for reforms that create growth.
