Successful Consolidation of Public Sector Budgets, but no Relief on the Labor Market. Economic Trends in the EU in 1997

In 1997, the European economy grew by 2.6 percent in real terms. In several economies of the European Union the expansion in aggregate demand and output accelerated in the second half of 1997, and the economic upswing became more broad-based. The fulfillment of the convergence criteria for membership in the European Economic and Monetary Union was at the center of economic policy-making. Meeting the Maastricht criteria, especially the financial ones, required serious efforts on the part of some countries. No improvement was recorded on the labor market; employment gains were weak, and unemployment persisted at a high level (with an unemployment rate of 10¾ percent).