Fitch predicts no end to EU crisis without growth policies 

(MENAFN - Khaleej Times) Europe won't surface from its debt crisis until the region puts in place policies that can support economic growth, according to Fitch Ratings.

"The crisis won't be over until we see a sustained economic recovery, which is crucial in terms of helping to reduce government debt ratios, easing problems of bank asset quality and in terms of the political situation," Ed Parker, managing director at Fitch, said yesterday in an interview in Oslo.

"If there is no growth, then we are likely to see opposition to perpetual austerity intensifying."

"There has been progress since the summer, but we think we are still in this process of muddling through," Parker said. "We don't think the crisis has been resolved."

As the euro area focuses on budget cuts to stem its debt crisis, the region's economy will shrink 0.2 per cent this year, the IMF said on January 23. That follows a 0.4 per cent drop in 2012.