EU policymakers ponder loosening the purse strings

SLOWLY but surely, the EU is shifting its message on promoting economic growth and is coming to the realisation that it may have been looking for it in the wrong place.

The question is whether the bloc can come up with a strategy that convinces sceptical financial markets while keeping debt on a downward path.

For many months, the mantra has been that struggling eurozone countries must cut budget deficits and carry out deep structural reforms — to labour markets, pension systems and via privatisations — to boost competition and stimulate growth.