German economy grows thanks to euro crisis

The German economy grew by three percent in 2011, while unemployment sank to six percent. Germany has the catastrophic situation in Europe to thank for this success, the liberal business paper Les Echos comments: "Germany is being boosted by the disastrous state of the European economy. The European Central Bank has reduced its short-term interest rate to one percent. That is clearly less than the Bundesbank would be charging if the euro didn't exist. And investors are lending to Germany over ten years at a ridiculously low rate of less than two percent because they are fleeing countries like Italy. Since Europe is far from having solved its problems, Germany will continue to borrow cheaply and announce pleasant surprises. But its success should not be emulated: if every country followed the same example the magic would no longer work. Certainly, the model should serve as an inspiration, but should not be copied."

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