Euro Zone Second Quarter GDP Growth Slows to 0.2 Percent The euro zone economy grew less than forecast in the second quarter, held back by a sluggish performance in Germany and stagnation in France, data from the European statistics agency showed on Tuesday. The Eurostat agency estimated gross domestic product (GDP) for the 17-country euro zone increased 0.2 percent in the three months to end-June from the previous quarter, compared with economists' forecasts of growth of 0.3 percent. That was sharply off the rate of 0.8 percent in the first three months of the year. Compared to the same quarter a year ago, Eurostat estimated GDP growth at 1.7 percent, compared to a year-on-year comparison of 2.5 percent in the first quarter of 2011. Economists had forecast a figure of 1.8 percent for the second quarter. A major contributor to the slowing growth was a German performance which suffered from a negative trade balance, flagging consumption and weak construction investment. German growth dropped to 0.1 percent in seasonally adjusted terms, from a revised 1.3 percent in the first three months of the year. French figures last week showed its economy stagnated in the second quarter. Germany, Europe's largest economy, has been a star performer since the end of the 2008 financial crisis, and a sharp slowdown in its growth would have knock-on effects in other parts of the the euro zone too. http://www.cnbc.com/id/44154906 If Germany heads into a recession, the EU is likely doomed. I wonder, if the Germans will bail on the EU in an attempt to save themselves? _
... Hardly. Often I wonder if you really mean what you say? Germany bail on the EU? When will you Americans get it?! Can you even imagine California or whatever US state bail on the USA. Americans...
Austerity is taking it's toll on the Euro economy but they really have no choice. It's a choice between austerity inflicted stagnation, or collapse.
Germany by large is a leading factor Your comparison would make sense if you replace Germany with West-Coast.
The EU is a loose collection of economic partners. They have no real political, military, or even legal foundation of cooperation. The U.S. was never suppossed to be anything like the EU.
The Ariticles of Confederation can be vaguely analogized with the 3 pillars of the EU. The Treaty of Lisbon is kind of like a looser version of our own Constitution. In a way, you can see the pros and cons to greater and less sovereignty within both our country and the EU.
The Lisbon Treaty was undemocratically adopted and ratified and intentional shields the European elites from the public opinion of the masses. Imagine if only half the 13 colonies ratified the Constitution and the other half were just forced to take it. That's what the EU is.
