BRUSSELS WATCH: "Decisive action paid off" EU Claims On GFC

By Tara Oakes

     BRUSSELS (MNI) - The European Union commended itself Wednesday for

wrenching itself out of the financial crisis which hit 10 years ago -- but added

that more work needed to be done.

     In a statement timed to coincide with the anniversary of the date widely

seen as the start of the worst recession in EU history, the Commission hailed

"strong political decisions to contain the crisis".

     But the EC conceded that the positive outlook masked differences between

member states.

     "Not all legacies from the past correct automatically. We have seen greater

social and economic divergences develop in and among Member States," Economic

Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said in a statement.

     GREECE

     Unemployment across the bloc is the lowest since 2008 but remains at

stubbornly high levels in Greece, whose sovereign debt crisis erupted in 2009 on

the back of the global financial crisis. 

     April's seasonally adjusted 21.7% Greek unemployment rate is a drop from

the high of 27.6% recorded in July 2013, but shows the country still struggling

from aftershocks of the crisis, which for many Greeks feels far from over.

Greeks surveyed in Spring 2017 were more pessimistic about the economic

situation in their country than in Autumn 2016, according to the recently

published EU Eurobarometer survey.

     But despite the ongoing Greek headache, the Union's self-congratulation is

backed up by the euro becoming the second-most traded global currency and the

exit of 21 of the 24 member states from the Excessive Deficit Procedure. Only

France, Spain and the UK remain after Greece's own exit was approved just weeks

ago.

     YOUTH AND THE FUTURE

     As with elsewhere in Europe, the Greek unemployment figures are dragged up

by youth figures, over 45% of whom are unemployed.

     Leader of the liberal ALDE group in the European Parliament, Guy

Verhofstadt, acknowledged that the work of the bloc now included a duty to the

young.

     "10ys since start of global financial crisis, we owe it to the young who

have suffered to be bold and reform [the] Eurozone," Verhofstadt tweeted

Wednesday.

     For the EC, this is to be achieved by more work on Economic and Monetary

Union.

     "We need to build on this progress, completing the financial union,

reforming our economies to foster convergence, inclusiveness and resilience, and

maintaining sustainable public finances. In doing so, we should pursue a

balanced approach where risk reduction and risk sharing go hand-in-hand and the

unity of the single market is preserved," Vice President for the Euro and Social

Dialogue, Valdis Dombrovskis, said in a statement.

     "As robust as it is today, the EMU remains incomplete and the journey of

the euro has just started," the EC added.

     Progress on EMU is not expected until after the summer break, when the

Parliament and commissioners return.

--MNI Brussels Bureau; +44 203-865-3851; email: tara.oakes@marketnews.com

--MNI London Bureau; tel: +44 203-586-2225; email: les.commons@marketnews.com

[TOPICS: M$E$$$,M$X$$$,MC$$$$,MI$$$$,MFX$$$,MGX$$$]