European financial institutions, mainly those which held a large amount of such government bonds, have faced deterioration in their balance sheets and difficulty in raising funds in the markets. They have started to strive to reduce the size of balance sheets through measures including tightening their lending stance. As a result, firms’ and households’ sentiment has deteriorated and economic activity has been slowing.
3. Ladies and Gentlemen, entrepreneurship is an integral part of any economy, and 4  entrepreneurs play a key role in driving growth and innovation, which in turn results in job creation.