Summary
Kees van Paridon
Duitsland en de Europese Unie: van koploper tot achterblijver
Kees van Paridon sketches the stagnation of the German economy in the 1990's and early 2000's. Germany used to be the economic engine of the European Union. However, since the premature euphoria surrounding reunification the structural deficiencies of its basic economic condition have rather made the Federal Republic the EU's brakesman. It remains to be seen whether the Chancellor's half-hearted and belated reforms can really and soon enough help turning the tide politically as well as economically.