This criticism is voiced in the context of global imbalances as well as divergences among EMU member states. It is argued that Germany’s pre-crisis export strength had been fuelled by excessive wage moderation and had been built up at the expense of other countries.
Moreover, the export strength is held responsible for Germany’s current account surpluses, which in turn are said to have aggravated the financial crisis. In my view, this debate is misleading, the reasoning is flawed and the resultant policy suggestions are harmful.