The zone without jobs
Unemployment in the eurozone reached a new record high of 12 per cent in January and stayed the same in February. Unemployment in the Netherlands jumped from 7.8 per cent in February to 8.1 per cent in March. A new Dutch opinion poll has revealed that 55 per cent of Dutch citizens now regret the introduction of the euro.
Most young Greeks out of work
In Greece unemployment is far worse, rising to nearly 60 per cent this January for those aged 15 to 24. The figures for all economically active workers are 24 per cent for men and 29 per cent for women.
Reparations call
According to a new poll by Marc for Alpha TV, eight out of ten Greeks want the Greek government to pursue the issue of outstanding WWII reparations from Germany. The poll also found that 40 per cent now want Greece to exit the euro.
Unconstitutional
The Portuguese Constitutional Court ruled that four out of nine measures in the latest budget were unconstitutional, partly since they fell disproportionately on public sector workers and pensions. After an emergency cabinet meeting, the government said that it would cut up to 1.3 billion euros from welfare and education spending. That may not be enough for the EU, which wants another 4 billion to plug the budget shortfall.
Irish workers say no
Irish trade unions have voted to reject a series of public sector pay cuts and work practice changes which the Irish government promised to the EU, the IMF and the European Central Bank.
Ten more years
Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann warned that overcoming the eurozone crisis could take up to a decade.
Yes, I was a dictator, says Kohl
In an interview made in 2002 but published for the first time this April, former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl revealed to journalist Jens Peter Paul that he acted “like a dictator” to get the euro introduced since he knew that he “could never have won a referendum” on the issue. ■