Like in the U.S., not all states within the EU are affected in the same way by the crisis; but those EU Member States which are hit most severely by the crisis now are also the ones which will amass high budget deficits very quickly and therefore find it harder to finance their stimulus spending.
I am particularly happy to be talking about this particular topic because I know that the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany generally sees things as I do. So I can pretty much lead on from what was said at your New Year's Reception back in 2004, which some of you might have attended nearly 15 years ago.