Southern European leaders gather in Lisbon as populism gains

by Dramelin 8:30 PM 0 comments concerns crisis elections european france gains gather greece group growth italy leaders lisbon populism portugal southern

The group, which brings together France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus and Malta, was reminded this week of their economic vulnerabilities as bond yields surged to one-year highs in Italy, Portugal and France. LISBON Southern European leaders meet on Saturday in Lisbon to discuss growing challenges, from the refugee crisis to rising borrowing costs and low economic growth, at a time when rising populism has increased political uncertainty in Europe. Greece, Italy and Portugal have the biggest debt loads in Europe. At the first meeting of the group in September in Athens, the group called for European measures to boost flagging growth. "But there will be little progress on these issues because of elections in France and probably Italy," he said.