IMF Staff Country Reports

This paper examines the monetary and exchange rate policies of the euro area and the trade policies of the European Union. The paper highlights that the overall economic performance of the euro area has been disappointing: growth has been weaker and inflation higher than generally expected. To a large extent, this is the result of a series of unanticipated shocks—oil prices and animal diseases earlier, and the global slowdown and the associated financial market turmoil more recently. However, the performance also appears to reflect a greater-than-anticipated vulnerability to shocks.