Regional dimensions of the financial and economic crisis

Although all European regions have been affected by the financial crisis and recession, the most severe difficulties have been seen where there were existing vulnerabilities, due to structural economic weaknesses or sectoral specialisation. The crisis has raised questions about the functioning of the financial and economic system, but has also demonstrated the importance of the role of government and of coordinated international action. The responses of European governments illustrate the varied ways in which the regional dimensions of economic difficulty can be addressed, either through active regional policy, or through other policies that explicitly target all or selected regions, or through the indirect regional effects of sectoral or thematic policies. There remains uncertainty over the path of recovery and over the strategies that governments will need to pursue in order to facilitate a return to sustained growth and employment creation.