The European economy is emerging from its
deepest recession since the 1930s. This volume, which brings together economic analysis
from the European Commission services, explains how swift policy response avoided a
financial meltdown; but turning the ongoing recovery into sustained growth requires action
on five challenges: boosting potential output, enhancing labour market flexibility,
preparing fiscal consolidation, facilitating intra-EU adjustment, and unwinding global
imbalances. Europe also needs an improved co-ordinated crisis-management framework to help
it respond to any similar situations that may arise in the future.
Economic Crisis in Europe shows that
the beginnings of such a crisis-management framework are emerging, building on existing
institutions and legislation and complemented by new initiatives.
Naturally, initial EU policy efforts, such
as fiscal stimulus, focused on crisis control and mitigation. But first steps have also
been taken to redesign financial regulation and supervision with crisis prevention in
mind. The design of crisis resolution policies is now becoming a main task. While any
premature withdrawal of policy stimulus should be avoided, exit strategies should be ready
for implementation, embedded in a broader policy framework that also includes
growth-enhancing structural reforms.
128 pages,Hardcover