Is there abnormal austerity in the euro zone?

It is often said that euro zone membership comes with the obligation to carry out austerity policies that depress growth: This is certainly no longer the case with monetary policy or exchange-rate policy; The key question is fiscal policy: should the euro zone’s external surplus be used to conduct a more expansionary fiscal policy? It would be better if there were an increase in corporate investment, given the euro zone’s lag with regard to investment in new technologies and automation; or a fiscal policy that encouraged companies to make this type of investment; or additional public spending on education and research; An increase in current public spending or a reduction in household taxes, even though there is an external surplus, would be unlikely to be efficient as the euro zone’s main problem is its weak productivity gains and low potential growth under the effect of insufficient corporate modernisation and low labour force skills.