A clear pattern seems to be emerging after the European Union’s statistics office, Eurostat, released its figures showing that the eurozone economy grew by a lower than expected 0.3 per cent in Q4 2010, with the growth figure for the EU as a whole 0.2%. This meant that total GDP growth in both the EU and the eurozone was 1.7% - sluggish but not entirely unexpected after a turbulent year.
So, what does the data mean? The pattern is that the harsher the austerity program the weaker the economic performance. While the economic powerhouses of Germany and France are seeing higher levels of exports and investment, most other EU countries will probably continue to struggle, even though eurozone inflation is, at 2.4%, almost half the rate in the UK.
Weak EU growth reveals the price of austerity | Left Foot Forward
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