Reference News Network, February 3 report. According to the website of French newspaper Le Monde on January 30, the EU has confirmed its resilience. Eurostat data shows that the eurozone's economy grew by 1.5% year-on-year in 2025, higher than 0.9% in the previous year. Spain, Italy, and even Germany, which had been stagnant for three years, all performed better than expected in the fourth quarter of last year. The eurozone's unemployment rate also fell by 0.1 percentage points month-on-month in December 2025, to 6.2%, returning to a historic low.

These statistics have created some illusion. If Ireland is excluded, the eurozone's economic growth rate in 2025 was only 1%, which better reflects the real situation. This small country has many large American multinational corporations, which are mainly established here for tax avoidance purposes. The volume of financial flows in Ireland is much larger compared to its economic size, and some situations have nothing to do with actual trade, leading to distortions in the EU's growth rate.

Additionally, there are many economic data that are strangely robust. In 2025, US President Trump historically imposed tariffs, reaching 15% on EU goods (but exempting sectors such as pharmaceuticals and aviation). Despite this trade and geopolitical tension, the EU's economic growth rate showed some potential.

This resilience has long concealed a two-speed development within the EU: countries on the periphery, led by Spain, have performed well in recent years, while the EU "core," especially France and Germany, have performed much worse.

However, signs of recovery in Germany and France have also begun to appear. Germany's economy grew by 0.3% in the fourth quarter of last year (also 0.3% for the whole year of 2025). Thomas Dvorsky from Oxford Economics explained: "There are still not enough details, but domestic demand may have been the main engine of Germany's economic growth in the fourth quarter of last year, as private sector and government spending both increased."

As for France, with an economic growth rate of 0.9% (only 0.2% in the fourth quarter), its recovery is still somewhat weak but genuine. After two quarters almost stagnating, household consumption grew by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Also, Italy has shown some signs of economic acceleration, with a growth rate of 0.3% in the fourth quarter and 0.7% for the entire year of 2025.

For the peripheral countries, Spain continues to perform well, with an economic growth rate of 2.8% in 2025. Other countries that were once victims of the eurozone crisis have also achieved good economic results, such as Portugal, which recorded an economic growth rate of 1.9% in 2025.

Christophe Bouchet, an investment manager at ING Bank's Investment Solutions department, said: "Even so, the EU's economic growth in 2025 was still a bit weak. Manufacturing remained in recession, mainly due to tariffs, a sharp rise in the euro, and a surge in energy prices. The EU economy is more resilient than expected, but it cannot be considered vibrant yet." (Translated by Lu Longjun)

Original: toutiao.com/article/7602512321767817774/

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