The wild variations in Europe's economic landscape

Few regions have experienced as bifurcated an economic landscape as Europe over the past decade.

At its heart, Europe contains some of the most economically robust regions in the world, from the Mittelstand in Western Germany to the Po Valley in Northern Italy, as well as those with economic and demographic challenges, such as Greece and Italy's Mezzogiorno.  There are different economic models, from the dirigiste and resistant-to-reform France, to Ireland, which is highly open and leveraged to globalisation. Overlaid on these discrepancies rests the European Union, driving towards increased harmonisation and pooled sovereignty, while negotiating the exit of its second largest econo...