Context
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy met in Paris on Tuesday to discuss the European debt crisis. However, figures released on the same day illustrated that the German economy grew only 0.1% in the second quarter. The disclosure further fuelled concerns that were sparked last week when the French economy posted 0% for the same period. A similar halt has been experienced by several other European economies that include Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia, according to figures released Tuesday.
