Guardian: EU's 'big three' in crisis, says third way guru - by Nicolas Watt

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EU's 'big three' in crisis, says third way guru - by Nicolas Watt

France, Germany and Italy are facing an economic crisis with worrying levels of unemployment, Tony Blair's intellectual guru has declared on the eve of an EU summit which starts in Brussels this afternoon. In a rare insight into the prime minister's private thoughts about some of Britain's closest European partners, Anthony Giddens warned of further trouble unless the three countries reform.

"Is there enough shock in France and Germany and Italy to produce ... changes because a great deal of Europe's unemployment is concentrated in those three countries?" the academic asked in an interview with Guardian Unlimited.