EU and Member States’ balance of payments during the economic turmoil

Growing integration of the global economy resulted in a substantial increase in the value of cross-border trade and financial flows, as measured by the balance of payments statistics. These developments were brought to a halt by the economic crisis. A deterioration in the credit markets led first to a significant drop in the value of financial transactions and, from 2008 onwards, turmoil also started to affect the 'real' economy, with a negative impact on the volume of exports and imports of goods and services.

In 2011, the EU-27 posted a current account deficit of €71.3 billion, 13% lower than in 2010 and 73% down on 2008. Although exports and imports of goods and services recovered in 2011, volumes of financial flows grew back only slowly or in some cases fell still further. National data reveal a mixed picture. Although the current account balances of the biggest economies remained relatively stable, many smaller countries managed to reduce their previously high current account deficits significantly. In recent years there has been a substantial increase in indebtedness recorded in the international investment positions of many of the EU Member States.