The gross domestic product of the monetary union grew by just 0.5% in 2023, and is unlikely to increase much in 2024. While Germany's economy is struggling, Spain's is doing well, buoyed by tourism. Ednews reports this news referring to LeMonde.

Over the last three months of 2023, the eurozone recorded zero growth, narrowly escaping a 'technical' recession, i.e. two quarters of consecutive falls in gross domestic product (GDP) - between August and September, GDP fell by 0.1%.

For the rest, there is little to celebrate. Over the year as a whole, the economy of the monetary union grew by just 0.5%, sinking into stagnation. "It has been virtually flat since the third quarter of 2022, when gas prices surged and the European Central Bank (ECB) began to raise its key interest rates," sums up Jack Allen-Reynolds, a specialist in the region at Capital Economics.

Although the rise in interest rates by the monetary institute has helped to calm inflation, which fell from 10.6% in October 2022 to 3.4% in December, it has nevertheless weighed on credit and investment, while the persistently high level of prices has penalised household consumption. In addition, the war in Ukraine, the conflict in the Middle East and geopolitical uncertainties have also dampened business morale.

The gap with the United States is widening considerably", stresses Bert Colijn, economist at ING, pointing out that the US economy grew by 2.5% in 2023. Consumption has suffered more in the eurozone, because wages have been slower to adjust to rising prices, and soaring energy costs, which are also more marked on the Old Continent, have damaged its industrial competitiveness". What's more, the United States has done more to support its reindustrialisation than Europe, with President Joe Biden's major spending plan, the Inflation Reduction Act.