CIAO DATE: 06/2010
May 2010
Over the weekend the EU put together a large-scale package worth up to €720 billion aimed at stabilising all the ‘peripheral’ Eurozone countries, in the face of mounting contagion risks. This came on top of an earlier financial support package for Greece worth €110 billion. The latest move has brought some relief to bond markets, but major challenges remain. Investors remain concerned about the capacity of Greece to stick to the immense fiscal adjustment needed in the face of a very deep recession and mounting social unrest. With the debt/GDP ratio set to keep rising to almost 150% in the next few years, concerns remain that some kind of debt restructuring or default cannot be avoided. For the other peripherals, too, the outlook remains bleak – while the immediate threat of a collapse in their debt markets has been averted, years of fiscal austerity and slow growth remain ahead.
Resource link: What now for the 'peripheral' Eurozone countries? [PDF] - 115K