The euro zone is in its most dangerous situation in more than two years, Finnish Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen said yesterday.
“This situation is dangerous, very dangerous,” Katainen said in an interview with Finland’s biggest daily, Helsingin Sanomat.
He said the last time the euro zone’s situation was so critical was in May 2010, when Greece was near collapse for the first time.
Katainen said it was very difficult to imagine what kind of chaos there would be if the euro area were to collapse.
International Labor Organization Director-General Juan Somavia ealier warned that euro zone nations must act now to prevent creating a further 4.5 million unemployed workers in the next four years.
“The eurozone is facing its worst crisis since the creation of the single currency,” he told reporters at the launch of a report on the eurozone crisis.
“Unemployment is on the rise in the majority of the 17 members and if policy does not change quickly, it is possible that 4.5 million jobs will be lost in the next four years,” he said, according to AFP.
Somavia said that the ILO had long warned against austerity measures as a way out of financial difficulties.
He said that unless all eurozone members embraced a growth strategy with jobs at its core, even the wealthiest countries would be hit.
“Recovery is still possible within a single currency setting, but the window of opportunity is closing,” he said.
Euro zone in ‘very dangerous situation’
