Portugal and growth: the economic situation in Southern Europe

&amp;NewLine;<p>Portugal is emerging as a key player in the European economic landscape, attracting a great deal of attention with its recent advances in growth. A recent study conducted by the consulting firm <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;www&period;capitaleconomics&period;com&sol;">Capital Economics<&sol;a> for the Financial Times has revealed a fascinating fact&amp;colon; the southern countries of the European Union&amp;comma; including Portugal&amp;comma; have surpassed&amp;rsquo&amp;semi;Germany in terms of development for the&amp;rsquo&amp;semi;year 2023&amp;period; This unexpected observation sheds new light on the region's economic dynamics&amp;comma; raising vital questions about the future of these nations often considered the weakest links in the&amp;rsquo&amp;semi;EU&amp;period;<&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;<h2 class&equals;"wp-block-heading">Portugal and growth prospects; economic outlook for Southern Europe<&sol;h2>&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;<p>However&amp;comma; renowned economist Don Diego De La Vega tempers this nascent enthusiasm by underlining several key points&amp;period; First of all&amp;comma; he warns against over-optimistic interpretation of these figures&amp;comma; emphasizing the need to step back and look at longer-term indicators&amp;period; Indeed&amp;comma; despite these recent performances&amp;comma; the economies of these countries continue to face profound structural challenges&amp;comma; notably in terms of productivity and debt levels&amp;period;<&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;<p>A crucial element to consider is the quality of the development observed&amp;period; Don Diego points out that this is often based on temporary or unsustainable factors&amp;comma; such as fiscal support measures or over-reliance on the tourism sector&amp;period; This superficial growth cannot form a solid basis for a sustainable, self-sustaining economic recovery&amp;period;<&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;<p>As for the impact of these results on the economic health of the <a href&equals;"https&colon;&sol;&sol;vivreauportugalconsulting&period;com&sol;leuribor-a-trois-six-et-12-mois&sol;" data-type&equals;"post" data-id&equals;"11898">euro zone<&sol;a>The analysis is unequivocal&amp;colon; growth in the region remains sluggish and largely dependent on external factors&amp;period; This situation highlights the structural weaknesses of the European economy and raises questions about its ability to boost productivity and generate autonomous development&amp;period;<&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;<p>As for future prospects&amp;comma; Don Diego foresees an inevitable economic slowdown for these countries&amp;period; Rising interest rates and other external factors are already starting to take their toll&amp;comma; and it is unlikely that these economies will be able to maintain their current level of development over the long term&amp;period; Structural reforms and a proactive monetary policy are needed to boost growth and stimulate productivity&amp;period;<&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;&amp;NewLine;<p>In conclusion&amp;comma; although the recent economic performances of&amp;rsquo&amp;semi;Spain&amp;comma; of&amp;rsquo&amp;semi;Italy&amp;comma; of Greece and Portugal give cause for some optimism&amp;comma; it is important not to lose sight of the structural challenges facing these countries&amp;period; A proactive approach and ambitious reforms will be needed to ensure sustainable and balanced economic growth in the region&amp;period;<&sol;p>&amp;NewLine;