Written question asked by Lord Higgins (Conservative) on Wednesday, 17 December 2014, in the House of Lords. It was due for an answer on Monday, 5 January 2015. It was answered by Lord Deighton (Conservative) on Wednesday, 7 January 2015 on behalf of the Treasury.

Economic and Monetary Union

Question: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether they consider that the operation of the Eurozone has had a positive effect on the United Kingdom economy.

Answer

As the Chancellor said at the Autumn Statement, Britain – as one of the most open trading economies in the world, with a large financial sector – is not immune to the risks of the global economy. This is particularly true of the euro area, the UK’s largest trading partner, which accounts for 40 percent of exports.

While significant steps have been taken by the euro area to place itself on a more sustainable footing, its economy weakened in the second half of 2014, with inflation extremely low and unemployment stubbornly high.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: HL3852
Session: 2014-15
Subjects: Economic and monetary union
Contains statistics: Yes
Link: View this Written question on www.parliament.uk

Economic and Monetary Union

Secondary information

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