Editing Sick man of Europe (section)

=== Germany ===
In the late 1990s, [[Germany]] was often labeled with this term because of its economic problems, especially due to the costs of [[German reunification]] after 1990, which were estimated to amount to over €1.5&nbsp;trillion (statement of [[Freie Universität Berlin]]).<ref name="The real sick man of Europe">[https://www.economist.com/opinion/displaystory.cfm?story_id=3987219 "The real sick man of Europe"], ''The Economist''. May 19, 2005.</ref> It continued to be used in the early 2000s, and as Germany slipped into recession in 2003.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.economist.com/node/209559 |title=The sick man of the euro |newspaper=The Economist |date=1999-06-03 |accessdate=2017-07-02}}</ref> In contrast, a 2016 article by ''[[The Guardian]]'' described the German economy under [[Angela Merkel]] as a "revival" from the country's previous "sick man" status.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/sep/18/angela-merkel-sick-man-of-europe-germany-economy-chancellor |title=Angela Merkel and the revival of the sick man of Europe |newspaper=The Guardian |date=2016-11-19 |accessdate=2017-07-02|last1=Oltermann |first1=Philip }}</ref> However, when Germany was experiencing economic issues again in the 2020s, concerns about the "sick man" characterisation reemerged, with [[Kiel Institute for the World Economy|Kiel Institute]] President [[Moritz Schularick]] saying: "If Germany does not want to become the 'sick man of Europe' once again, it must now courageously turn its attention to the growth sectors of tomorrow instead of fearfully spending billions to preserve yesterday's energy-intensive industries."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Böhme |first=Henrik |date=1 August 2023 |title=Germany: The return of the 'sick man' of Europe? |work=[[Deutsche Welle]] |url=https://www.dw.com/en/germany-economy-weakens-2023/a-66403943}}</ref>