The report is composed of three parts:

Part I  - Horizontal analysis - Trends in competitiveness and impact of the crisis

This part presents a horizontal perspective with a cross-country review of developments in price and cost competitiveness and external performance. It focuses on recent developments and the impact of the crisis, setting them against the more medium-term trends observed since the launch of the euro. It also analyses changes in the drivers of competitiveness and external performance and in the underlying domestic imbalances. A section is devoted to the implications of the crisis for the competitiveness adjustment channel in the euro area.

Part II - Overall assessment and policy implications

This part provides an overall assessment of competitiveness developments in the euro area and discusses policy implications. It proposes a set of policy measures at the macro- and microeconomic level to improve competitiveness adjustment within the euro area.

Part III - Competitiveness developments in euro area countries

This part presents a country-specific analysis on competitiveness developments for each of the 16 individual euro-area Member States. They underpin the overall competitiveness assessment and policy analysis presented in the report by an extensive and detailed expertise of the economies and institutions of the countries concerned.