Consumption, investment and saving in the EU: an assessment

The EU economy and the euro area economy, in particular, have been experiencing a moderate recovery since the third quarter of 2003. A closer look at the nature of the current recovery reveals its fragility and, in some euro-area economies, the continued strong reliance of growth on external demand.

In an effort to shed light on the performance of the euro area in the current business cycle, this paper examines the main underlying factors, which could explain the observed trends and recent behaviour of consumption, saving and investment in the euro area, as well as in some individual Member States.