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1/9/06

FT.com - A new mood is what Europe needs most

FT.com

A new mood is what Europe needs most

"When Europe is in a miserable mood, everything seems to go wrong at once. That is how it has felt for the past 12 months, as pessimism about slow growth and high unemployment, especially in the core economies of Germany, France and Italy, only served to compound the stagnation.Yet just as the Jeremiahs seem confident in their direst predictions of further stasis, signs are emerging that the mood is lightening, at least on the economic front. Consumer confidence is picking up, fears about unemployment have fallen to a four-year low in the eurozone, and the business mood, especially in Germany, has shown three months of steady recovery.What the EU does not need is a further divisive debate on institutional arrangements. The citizens of Europe are clear that they want the priority put on jobs and economic performance. Cherry-picking the most helpful parts of the constitutional treaty - more transparency in the Council of Ministers is a good place to start - is probably the best way forward."

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