The economy has contracted by about 15 per cent in the past two years, and is expected to contract by a further 4,4 per cent this year, while unemployment has increased from 7,7 per cent in 2008 to almost 20 per cent. At the root of these problems is a balance of payments crisis within the euro area between northern and southern Europe.
And given the corporate restructuring planned going forward, the consumption and investment sentiments of economic agents may contract further. Against this backdrop, in order to help restore our economy’s vitality it is important, along with our implementation of accommodative monetary and fiscal policies, that we carry out structural reforms consistently.