Europe’s business leaders surveyed on eurozone crisis

Thursday, February 09, 2012 | Posted by: Fiona Cullinan
Categories: Thought leadership | Tags: business, statistics, report, survey, IBR, financial, International business report, Europe, debt, EU, crisis, business leaders, integration, euro, eurozone, single currency, sovereign debt crisis, analysis,

How are business leaders in and around the European Union reacting to the eurozone crisis, do they still support the euro – and what do they think is the solution? Grant Thornton asked 50 senior executives in each economy to find out…

What next for the euro?
It’s been 20 years since the Maastricht Treaty paved the way for the creation of the euro and the EU developed the world’s largest single market. But in 2012, the eurozone is facing its biggest challenge yet with the single currency under threat and austerity measures revising growth forecasts and business revenues downwards.

However, research from the Grant Thornton International Business Report (IBR) reveals that, despite the ongoing sovereign debt crisis, business leaders remain very supportive of the single currency.

Of all businesses surveyed, 89% want the euro to survive in some form or another – although this ranges from 92% amongst businesses within the eurozone to 79% of those in the EU-only.

Who’s in and who’s out?
Further key findings from the survey include:

• More than three in four businesses in the eurozone believe the single currency has benefited their operations.
• Support for the euro is highest in Finland (90%) and lowest in Italy (48%).
• Most businesses want to see the euro survive, but two in five in Germany want to see some countries dropping out.
• Two in three businesses in both Denmark and Poland want to join the euro, compared to just one in 10 in UK.
• Nine in 10 businesses in Turkey would like to see further integration with the EU.

Does Europe have an integrated future?
Despite the high level of support for the euro, our survey revealed mixed views on further European integration.

Within the eurozone, Greece (62%) and Spain (53%) were keen to welcome new entrants, but elsewhere fewer than one in three eurozone businesses wanted the single currency expand (31%). And almost a quarter (24%) wanted to see some countries drop out of the single currency – a popular option for those with AAA-rated sovereign debt, such as Finland (50%), Germany (40%) and the Netherlands (24%).

It’s a varied picture outside the eurozone, too. The majority of business leaders in Poland (64%) and Denmark (62%) would like their country to join the single currency. This is in sharp contract to business leaders in the UK and Sweden, where only 12% and 28% respectively wish to join.

Outside the EU, 88% of businesses in Turkey would like their economy to integrate further with Europe, but just 32% would like to join the euro.

Download ‘The future of Europe’ report
For a full report and analysis, the results are available for download in our 12-page IBR survey: The future of Europe: clouded by uncertainty.

The 2012 data in this report are drawn from interviews conducted in November/December 2011, with at least 50 business leaders surveyed in each economy.

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