%0 Journal Article %T CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ECONOMIC - FINANCIAL CRISIS IN EUROPE %A Nicu MARCU %A Georgeta-M£¿d£¿lina MEGHI£¿AN %J Revista Roman£¿ de Statistic£¿ %D 2012 %I Romanian National Institute of Statistics %X The current economic and financial crisis represents the most sever episode of this type during the last generations ¨C as it results from the reports of the European Commission. The impact upon the European Union member states¡¯ economies materialised under the form of the credit restructuration, reduction of the trust at the economic level, and also, a serious contraction of the demand and the commercial exchanges. These are elements which determined the decrease of the investment and production activity, and also the usage of the production capacities, especially in the constructions field. On a medium and long term, we can appreciate that the true problem of the nature and profoundness of the crisis represents the pressure upon the business competitiveness, with consequences at the level of the working force or degradation of the human and technologic capital. %K economic and financial crisis %K GDP %K external debt %K austerity measures %U http://www.revistadestatistica.ro/Articole/2012/art_2en_rrs3_2012.pdf