Finland: The next Greece?

“As the battle between Greece and the Eurozone over austerity measures and debt repayment plans continues, there are fears that Finland could be the 'next Greece', with experts concerned the Finnish economy could also crash, sparking fears the euro is heading for an economic catastrophe. Despite some economic data suggesting the Eurozone is well on the way to recovery, leading British economist Roger Bootle is far less optimistic about the economic prospects of the bloc, and in particular, the future of the euro single currency.”

“... while the individual economies of Germany of France recorded small growth, equivalent figures for Spain, Portugal, Italy and Greece were minus 6.4 percent, 7.3 percent, 9.5 percent and 26 percent respectively. The astonishing drop in productivity, particularly in Greece, is even more concerning when contrasted with the economic performance of other non-Eurozone European economies such as Norway and Switzerland, which grew by 6 percent and 8 percent over the same time period. This data, combined with further analysis of booming Asian markets, has led many to question whether the concept of the single European economy is doomed.”

“Some analysts have argued that other stronger Eurozone economies were well aware of the true extent of Greece's economic problems but didn't raise the alarm, because it has been suggested that they would ultimately benefit from having weaker nations as part of the currency. As the negotiations continue between Greece and other eurozone officials, there is a growing thought among economists that Athens may in fact leave the bloc.”

“An additional concern is the growing economic state of Finland, with Finnish opposition leader Juha Sipila warning the country could be the next Greece and may face an economic crash. With close to one in five people unemployed, Finland is the latest Eurozone country facing an economic crisis, with rising labor costs, a diminishing workforce and a reduction in exports to Russia contributing to three years of recession. Everyone in the EU is worried about the economy and financial situation, forgetting about the importance of geopolitics, and that could be the downfall of the union, according to French journalist Coralie Delaume. There are fears these problems could trigger a crash in the Finnish economy and potentially a 'lost decade' for the country, as parliamentarians try and agree on what reforms to introduce to reverse the concerning trend.”

http://sputniknews.com/europe/20150413/1020822761.html

Blog comment: Reducing labor costs will only make things worse as it happened in Greece, especially in a small market like Finland.

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