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So the real villain is lack of industrial policy in the EU.

The PIIGS had catching up to do : all that money could have done a lot of good in productive investment : but instead it was frittered away on a real estate bubble or on boosting consumption.

It is rightly acknowledged that people of faith have no monopoly of virtue - Queen Elizabeth II

by eurogreen on Wed Jun 20th, 2012 at 09:21:57 AM EST
[ Parent ]
A good chunk of it - certainly in the Irish case - was spent buying up property across Europe. German banks funding the purchase of French assets via Irish "owners", for example.
by Colman (colman at eurotrib.com) on Wed Jun 20th, 2012 at 09:24:42 AM EST
[ Parent ]
But the boom in the periphery was certainly good for German exports.

As the Dutch said while fighting the Spanish: "It is not necessary to have hope in order to persevere."
by ARGeezer (ARGeezer a in a circle eurotrib daught com) on Wed Jun 20th, 2012 at 11:04:36 AM EST
[ Parent ]
Military weaponry as well!
by Upstate NY on Wed Jun 20th, 2012 at 11:01:14 AM EST
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