But another reason for the ballooning debt levels was undoubtedly the financial crisis, which saw a number of euro-area countries being forced to shore up their banking systems. This was compounded in the subsequent sovereign debt crisis by emerging doubts over debt sustainability in some member states. Rescue measures were swiftly rolled out to prevent the crisis from coming to a head.
For 2017 as a whole, the economy is expected to return to positive, albeit relatively low growth rates. The recovery will be supported by higher exports of goods and services, and the continued, foreign-demand-driven increase in industrial production, which contributes to job creation.