Exports and imports averaged 53 per cent of GDP in the period 2000-2009 compared to almost 70 per cent in the euro area as a whole. In 2008, the current account deficit had reached almost 15 per cent of GDP. This unsustainable growth model has been changing through the crisis.
The competitiveness gap, which had opened up post entry into EMU, was eliminated through internal devaluation. The current account deficit is now close to balance. Whilst the majority of adjustment in the current account since 2008 has come about through a fall in imports, exports of goods and services (excluding shipping) have increased by 27 per cent in real terms.