Addressing the eurozone's challenges

EUROPE

The recession may be over, but the recovery is still weak in Europe, says Philippe Waechter, chief economist at Natixis Asset Management.

Since last spring, there have been reasons to be optimistic about every European country. Spain and Italy are back to positive growth; in Germany, IFO and ZEW surveys are showing increasingly positive momentum, and French companies’ perception of their economic environment has improved significantly. Industrial production data is still fragile, of course, but unemployment data is better. Since last June, the number of people unemployed in the euro area has been decreasing. The eurozone as a whole is in much better shape, and this current momentum demonstrates a real change in behaviou...