Before addressing the longer-term issues, it may be worthwhile to remind ourselves of the major economic recovery that has taken place in the euro area since 2013. In five years, more than 10 million new jobs have been created. Unemployment – although still too high – has declined by 4 percentage points to below 8 per cent.
The accommodative monetary policy of the European Central Bank has substantially contributed to the recovery. Recently, the global growth outlook has been shadowed by significant uncertainty. The trade tensions between the US and China have escalated, China´s growth has been decelerating and Europe has its own problems.