![](https://www.cer.eu/sites/default/files/styles/spotlight/public/imagefield_default_images/spotlight-default-image_0.jpg?itok=Cq48GTJ0)
Euro laggards risk stagnation, deflation
The CER's Charles Grant told reporters that the countries ignored advice from the European Union's executive to overhaul their economies by making labour markets more flexible and knocking down barriers that protect some businesses or sectors from rivalry. If the four nations had been "better pupils and swallowed the medicine, they wouldn't be in the trouble they are today," Grant said.