Country leads the formerly weak southern EU economies that are now outpacing France and Germany

Finance minister says the country’s performance is clearly better than most of those in the single currency

Many jobseekers spend months finding work, as cooling labour market sparks worries that consumer spending will slow

Rather than pursuing grand institutional designs, pragmatic steps are needed to unlock capital to boost growth

Country leads the formerly weak southern EU economies that are now outpacing France and Germany

Increasingly bifurcated economy undermines strong GDP and productivity growth

Europe’s largest economy struggles to rebound despite government’s €1tn debt-funded investment spree

Tussles over what to put on euro banknotes are symbolic of deeper dysfunction