The European Commission expects Greece, Portugal, Spain and the Netherlands to be Europe’s weakest economies in 2012. Wait a minute. The Netherlands? That stalwart of the euro zone? The same Netherlands that’s lending billions of euros to Greece, Portugal and Ireland?

Yes indeed: The commission on Thursday said it expects the Dutch economy to contract 0.9% this year, the lowest growth rate in the 27-nation European Union apart from Greece, Portugal and Spain.