b'A little better. But there is no meaningful orworrying for the future prosperity of the UK- material difference in these US-researchedEU marriage and for the EU itself. rankings. The abject failure of Southern and Eastern Europe to feature prominently in theMme Christine Lagarde has previously World Rankings in Higher Education makescommented on the dire prospects for the it highly unlikely that the unemploymentEuropean economies as a whole. What are problem in those countries will be solved.the prospects for the strongest economy in The outcome is likely to be mass emigration.the EU and the Eurozone - Germany?In any event, such dependent relatives are 2.5. Economic prospects for Germany The implications are enormous. Estimates for reaching these targets are some 1 trillion, in the form of larger government subsidies for renewable energy producers that are passed on to consumers as higher prices for electricity generated from renewable energy. Moreover, see the Financial Times article from 21 January 2014: EU energy costs more than twice those of the US, and Natural gas prices in the US are roughly a third of the price in Europe.20 Germany has up to now been depopulating. The following extract and map from the Germany is the powerhouse of the EU andEconomist on 14 March 2015 bear this out: the Eurozone. But cracks are showing in its economy.Germany has one of the worlds most rapidly ageing and shrinking populations, Germany has had a comparative advantageeven though an uptick in immigration since the launch of the euro. However,has temporarily halted its overall decline Lombard Street Research says of Germanysince 2011. By 2060, it is estimated that they have been ripping off their own peoplethe total number of Germans will have to build up pointless trade surpluses. theirtumbled by 20 million, equivalent to weakness is reliance on foreign demand,Romanias population today. But decline is which is no longer forthcomingfromunevenly spread. Some cities are growing. emerging markets.17 Other areas, mainly in the east and the countryside, are emptying.21Moreover, Germanys energy policy, overly influenced by the Greens, is a threat to German prosperity.18 Chancellor Angela Merkel has committed Germany to reducing its dependence on fossil fuels, with plans for renewable energy to meet 50% of its needs by 2030, and 80% by 2050.1936'