Greece's impressive external rebalancing has culminated in the current-account deficit narrowing to 2.9% of GDP in 2012 from almost 15% in 2008. However, this process has mainly relied on a collapse in imports as a result of an ongoing sharp contraction in domestic demand, driven by fiscal austerity. This, in...

On 27 November, the Eurogroup (the finance ministers of the 17 countries that use the euro) and the IMF reached an agreement to reduce Greece's public debt to below 110% of GDP by 2022 and to ensure its repayment. The compromise avoids the need for a haircut on Greek debt...

On October 29th, the centre-right Liberals (VVD) and the centre-left Labour Party (PvdA) announced that they had agreed to form a 'grand coalition' government. The new ministerial line-up is expected to be presented to the Queen next week. The speed at which the two former adversaries agreed on a coalition,...

The pro-business Liberals (VVD) won a huge victory in the general election held on 12 Septemberw, just ahead of the centre-left Labour Party (PvdA). Both parties made major gains compared with the 2010 election. Dutch voters have therefore returned to the political centre and away from right-wing and left-wing parties...

Greek Prime Minister Antonis Samaras won the June general election promising to renegotiate the terms of the Memorandums of Understanding (MoU) that accompany the two EU/IMF bail-out deals (worth a total of €240bn) that Greece has to implement to avoid sovereign default. The cornerstone of this renegotiation plan is to...

In June, a pro-euro Greek government was sworn in, pledging to bring the country's public finances back on track to avoid a 'disorderly' default and eventual Greek euro exit ('Grexit'). Despite the temporary respite provided by the election, Grexit risk is still fuelled by four destabilising factors: an economic depression,...