Let's put that "fact" into perspective shall we
The economy of the European Union generates a GDP of over €12.279033*trillion (US$17.960*trillion in 2011) according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), making it the largest economy in the world.
Economy of the European Union - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
And that's at the height of the European crisis. All the talk about emerging markets and the euro crisis make people forget that the EU is in fact the largest economy in the world.
The problem is that the EU politicians can never agree on anything apart from setting a new date to talk.