In February 2001 euro area unemployment stood at 8.7% compared with 4.2% in the United States and 4.7% in Japan. Furthermore, the euro area labour force participation rate of 67.3% in 1999 was considerably lower than the participation rate in the United States (77.2%) or Japan (72.4%).
Ambitious, targeted and coordinated fiscal policy should continue to complement monetary policy in supporting the recovery. In this context, the Next Generation EU programme has a key role to play. It will contribute to a stronger and uniform recovery across euro area countries. It will also accelerate the green and digital transitions and support necessary structural reforms that lift long-term growth.