![Europe’s economy faces the danger of ongoing decline, economists say [Video]](https://smallbizsage.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/mp_346005_0_107252163168608116720230606t193250z1521093423rc2td1ag4q6urtrmadp0germanyfrancejpeg.jpg)
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz welcomes French President Emmanuel Macron before a private dinner at the “Kochzimmer” restaurant in Potsdam outside Berlin, Germany, June 6, 2023.
Michael Kappeler | Pool | via Reuters
It’s been a topsy-turvy last year for the euro zone with its largest economies, Germany and France, seeing political and economic turbulence that means neither has a budget in place for 2025.
Economists say the trajectory for both countries is worrying, warning that the absence of growth, fiscal imbalances and political intransigence could lead to decline and a loss of standing for Europe, as a whole.
“The situation today is different from the earlier [sovereign debt] crisis insofar as Europe’s most acute problems are no longer concentrated in smaller economies like Greece. Instead, it is Europe’s two most important economies that are struggling,” Neil Shearing, group chief economist at Capital Economics said in analysis in December.
“Europe faces ongoing decline without fundamental reform at its …
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