The June issue of the Quarterly Report on the Euro Area focuses on euro-area exports, their pre-crisis performance and the challenges ahead. It concludes that euro-area exporters enjoyed a rather strong competitive position in the decade preceding the crisis and should be relatively well positioned to exploit the opportunities offered by the ongoing trade recovery. Achieving robust export growth in the years ahead will, however, require tackling a number of important structural challenges revealed by the crisis. The report also presents a quantitative assessment of the importance of non-price competitiveness factors such as innovation and the business environment. In addition to trade, it also sheds new light on the causes of the recent recession in the euro area and the impact of the crisis on cyclical convergence between Member States.

Press release 24/6/2010. IP10/819. Quarterly Report on the Euro Area focuses on challenges ahead for Euro area exporters