We first met in Stockholm three years ago. Our discussions were all about issues such as education and climate change. The economy barely came up. But then the world was shaken by an economic catastrophe that toppled banks, destroyed businesses and ruined countless livelihoods. The wreckage is clear in Europe today: unemployment has risen by more than 7m; almost €150bn has been wiped off European Union output; average EU debt levels have risen to almost 80 per cent of gross domestic product. By any measure, these are shocking statistics.
3年前,我們首次在斯德哥爾摩會面。我們討論的都是像教育和氣候變化這樣的問題。幾乎沒有談到過經濟問題。但隨後,全球遭遇了一場經濟災難的打擊,這場災難令銀行傾覆、讓企業倒閉,並毀掉了無數人的生計。如今,這場災難給歐洲造成的破壞歷歷在目:失業人數增加了逾700萬;歐盟(EU)產出減少了1500億歐元;歐盟債務佔國內生產總值(GDP)的平均比率升至近80%。以任何標準衡量,這些數字都讓人觸目驚心。