Europe is in the throes of a crisis of identity—perhaps the most profound since the creation of the European Union—and one that springs from deep economic distress in many of its member states and political division both within and without. We asked a pan-European panel of experts how this crisis is affecting their corners of the continent and what their respective countries need to remain viable.
France has been facing zero growth over the last two quarters, and the nature of its economic problems are increasingly apparent. It suffers from a fairly widespread supply-side problem—industrial profit margins that have been declining since the early 2000s, today reaching a level that makes it all but impossible, in many cases, for selling prices to exceed production costs. This has prevented sufficient investments and modernization of capital. Numerous regulations and tax measures explain the substantial decline in residential construction. Also, the excessive cost...
