The problem is that the Economist and a lot in the Anglo-American financial world paint everything with a very "anglo-american" paint brush. Europe and most of the world simply does not fit into that kind of box. Let me explain.
The common theory is, give tax cuts and people will spend. Now where does that theory come from? The US. It does not however work in Europe, to the shock of many anglo-American economists.. why? Because European would rather pay off personal debt than go out and buy new stuff... which is in total opposite of Americans and British (up to a point). Try to give Japanese a tax cut, and they will save the money up. The world does not react like Americans...
These differences vary from country to country, but they are all different from America and the UK.
Another example. Spain has one of the highest, if not highest home ownership ratio on the planet. So when the crisis hit, everyone in the Anglo-American financial world just assumed that this meant that the Spanish were up to their ears in debt. Problem was.. they were not. Sure many Spanish had invested in extra homes for renting out or as an investment, and used loans to do that, but the average Spaniard in fact inherits their home, and is often debt free (on that point at least). That is why home ownership ratio in Spain is so high.
Point is also, that Europe is not one country, but a lot of them.. with different traditions and economies. So painting it all with one brush is a bit crazy. France has issues with labour laws, but Denmark does not. Italy is stuck with legacy legislation that prevents competition, but Holland does not (relatively speaking). The list goes on.
So no, Europe is not perfect, and it is not "all good" so to say. It is as it always has been... ticking along in a positive healthy rate, that most Anglo-American financial experts (if you can call them that), think is doom and gloom.
It is amazing that now days the Anglo-American media never mentions that Europe is in fact growing many places faster than the US.... has a far more open economy and more opportunities. No one mentions that Greece.. yes Greece is growing faster than the UK at the moment.. All that is mentioned if you read the Anglo-American media, is that Italy is "not growing as expected"... basically trying to paint a negative where there is not really one.
But again, to the OP.. all is as well as it usually is in "Europeland".. depending on what metrics you want to use. Europeans are pessimists by nature....