Though unprecedented in the annals of recent European economic history, it is also reflective of a wider trend. While large economies like Germany, France and the U.K. have been mired in stagnant growth and even recession over the past few years, in Southern Europe, the so-called PIGS of Portugal, Italy, Greece and Spain have managed to flip the economic script. In 2023, GDP across the entire EU grew at an average rate of about 0.4 percent, while Greece, Spain and Portugal all posted rates comfortably in excess of 2 percent. The larger Mediterranean economies of Italy and Spain are now among the principal contributors to the EU’s return to—very modest—growth. Spain in particular has invested heavily in energy partnerships with Algeria through private Spanish energy companies such as Repsol.

Source: The North Africa Journal May 01, 2024 18:37 UTC