German unemployment has reach an all time low, proving that the euro currency has helped primarily Germany one of the world's main exporters.
The euro which is shared with 17 weaker countries means that the euro is about 30% weaker than the old Deustchemark.
This means that German exports to Eurozone countries and the rest of the world are cheaper than if it had its own currency.
Meanwhile misery continues unabated in Greece as the economy continues to shrink and unemployment rise due to harsh austerity measures.
The austerity is to ensure that Greece pays back mainly German and French banks which lent to it during the boom times. Greece has warned that it may exit the euro if it cannot afford the repayments of the bailout cash.
The German chancellor has predicted that 2012 will be even harder than 2011. The EU will conduct several more summits to try halt the spread of the debt crisis.Merkel stated that it will the harshest period in decades for the EU, but will leader to a stronger European Union.
Harsh austerity will continue in Greece, Italy, Ireland, Spain and Portugal. The ECB is still refusing to buy debts of Eurozone members at the behest of Germany which believes that the bank should only focus on inflation. Spain has cut 9 Billion euros from its new budget for 2012.
The Spanish finance minister has promised that Spain will feel pain in the next upcoming months as he expects that the country will end the last quarter in negative growth. He also predicts that the GDP will shrink in the first quarter of 2012.
This means that Spain will enter its second recession in 2 years after emerging from its last one in 2010. Spanish unemployment remains the highest in the Eurozone standing at 21.5%
Continue reading on Examiner.com Hard year ahead for EU - National European Finance | Examiner.com http://www.examiner.com/european-finance-in-national/hard-year-ahead-for-eu#ixzz1iOgyuu6F
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