SOCHI, October 3. /TASS/. Germany and France are ceasing to be powerhouses of the European economy, President Vladimir Putin said at the plenary session of the Valdai Discussion Club.
"The situation in the European economy, as we just said, is challenging. Not to mention Germany and France, they, Germany in the first instance, have recently been powerhouses of the European economy," Putin noted. "And, by the way, however much Poland wants, it will not become such powerhouse. It wants to be a leader of the European Union, we see that, but it is difficult, it is a very difficult task for it in the foreseeable future," Putin said.
"These countries [Germany and France - TASS] are losing this feature. In view of stagnation in leading economies and because their budget deficit is too large, exponentially more than we have," the Russian leader added.