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State investments, tax cuts, cash injections measures aimed at stimulating the economy are dominating the headlines in these times of recession. The European press takes a look at national and pan-European approaches to reviving the economy.

European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet during a media conference at an emergency financial summit, Elysee Palace, Paris, October 2008. Photo: AP/ Virginia Mayo

Europe:

The European stimulus plan was only partly pan-European and not multi-dimensional enough to achieve genuine results, the Portuguese daily Diário de Notícias wrote on November 27, 2008.
» Diário de Notícias (Portuguese)

The stimulus package presented by the European Commission deserved to inspire confidence, wrote the Belgian daily De Tijd on November 27, 2008, adding that coordination at a European level was indispensable to put an end to the negative spiral of national reactions.
» De Tijd (Flemish)

The weekly magazine Le Nouvel Observateur stressed on 6 October 2008 the need for the EU to implement a common economic policy, noting that Nicolas Sarkozy faced his first crisis as EU president.
» Le Nouvel Observateur (French)

The daily newspaper The Irish Times criticised on 8 December 2008 Germany's opposition to an EU-wide stimulus programme. Germany should keep its options open and not block the programme, it wrote.
» The Irish Times (Irish)

Germany

As Europe's largest economy Germany was taking the right course of action in the economic crisis, the German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung wrote on 14 January 2009 commenting on two national stimulus packages amounting to 75 billion euros.
» Süddeutsche Zeitung (German)

Writing in the French businss paper La Tribune, the chief economist at German commercial bank Landesbank Hessen-Thüringen (Helaba) argued that the measures aimed at stimulating the economy in Germany were too weak.
» La Tribune (French)

The UK:

The German daily Frankfurter Rundschau applauded on 24 November 2008 the announcement that VAT would be cut in the UK.
» Frankfurter Rundschau (German)

On 13 November 2008 the UK's Financial Times welcomed fiscal stimulus as a means for fighting the recession in the UK
» Financial Times (English)

Taking a stance in the debate over tax cuts as a measure for stimulating the economy The Daily Telegraph wrote on November 12 that they should be financed by cuts in government spending rather than by increasing public debt.
» The Daily Telegraph (English)

France:

The French business paper Les Echos wrote on 21 Oktober 2008 that stimulus measures were often used as an excuse for giving up structural reforms that were absolutely necessary.
» Les Echos (French)

Hedging one's bets on investment rather than consumption was an intelligent strategy, the French business paper Les Echos wrote on 5 December 2008 commenting on stimulus measures in France.
» Les Echos (French)

Information (Denmark) | 16.12.2008
According to an article in the Danish daily Information on 21 January 2009, the measures of the Danish government aimed at aiding banks and stimulating the economy did not go far enough. The stimulus package did not fulfil the demands for greater responsibility and long-term stability.
» Informatíon (Danish)

Tax incentives alone would not suffice to get the Danish economy back on track, the Danish daily Politiken wrote on 16 December 2008, adding that the conservative government had elected a backwards-looking strategy which avoided any kind of stimulus.
» Politiken (Danish)

Belgium:

The Belgian daily De Standaard pointed out on 16 January 2009 that no one could say with certainty that stimulus measures would lead to a quick solution. It was paradoxical, it commented, that the crisis that was caused by cheap loans being granted too easily was now to be solved by making new debts.
» De Standaard (Flemish)

In Belgium the construction industry had been particularly hard hit by the economic crisis, the Belgian daily La Libre Belgique wrote on 16 December 2008. Therefore it was understandable that the government's stimulus plan dedicated an entire chapter to this sector.
>» La Libre Belgique (French)

The Netherlands:

The government was quite right to steer a cautious course with its stimulus programme, the Dutch paper De Volkskrant wrote on 16 January 2009. After all, the Netherlands was a small country with a relatively open economy in comparison to the likes of Germany and France.
» De Volkskrant (Dutch)

Sweden:

The Swedish daily Dagens Nyeter called on 26 November 2008 for "traditional Keynesian demand control', while recognising that it would not be easy to stimulate the economy.
» Dagens Nyheter (Swedish)

Ireland:

The Irish Times wrote on 25 November 2008 that sinking VAT in the UK represented an acceptable risk for the British but left the Irish economy at a disadvantage.
» The Irish Times (Irish)

Finland:

On January 9, 2008, the Finnish daily Kymen Sanomat contended that the Finnish government must confront the global economic downturn with effective measures and shoulder part of the risk to prevent dramatic consequences in Finland.
» Kymen Sanomat (Finnish)

Spanien:

Die französische Wirtschaftszeitung Les Echos war am 4. Februar 2009 der Ansicht, dass Spanien mit seiner derzeitigen Politik die schwere Wirtschaftskrise nicht lösen könne. Zum schlimmsten Zeitpunkt des Sturmes erscheine Ministerpräsident José Luis Zapatero geschwächt. Seine wirtschaftliche Strategie sei schwer zu durchschauen.
» Les Echos (French)

Ungarn:

Die österreichische Tageszeitung Der Standard wunderte sich am 29. Oktober 2008 darüber, dass Ungarn Sozialausgaben kürze, um einen IWF-Kredit zu bekommen. Während Regierungen weltweit große Konjunkturpakete schnürten, gehe Ungarn den umgekehrten Weg. Weniger Staat laute die Devise.
» Der Standard (German)

Further articles on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » Economic Policy, » EU Policy, » Domestic Policy, » Ireland, » Europe
More from the press review on the subject » Fiscal Policy, » Economic Policy, » EU Policy, » Domestic Policy, » Ireland, » Europe