RFEU - Europe's Recovery Hinges On Fiscal Policy
By Erik Norland
The eurozone's economic expansion has hit a soft patch. Manufacturing has been shrinking for four months - but not at an alarming pace that would indicate a recession. The services sector continues to expand but at a much slower pace than in 2017 and 2018. Except for France, Europe remains politically fractured with fragile coalitions governing most countries. Recent EU elections hardly provided clarity, with nationalist and Eurosceptic parties and pro-Europe liberals advancing at the expense of traditional center-right and center-left parties.
Figure 1: Lagging But Also Improving: Eurozone Unemployment The Lowest