The euro's success story

With a view to the financial crisis The Irish Times comments on the success of the euro ten years after its introduction: "The euro has proven a remarkable success, despite the many grim warnings from sceptics that the currency union was doomed. The European single currency would fail 'economically, socially and politically', Mrs Thatcher insisted: she has been wrong on all counts. Indeed the strength and stability of the euro has never been more in evidence than in recent months, as global financial turmoil intensified following the collapse of [US investment bank] Lehman Brothers. In contrast the difficulties this presented for some countries outside the eurozone, like Denmark, are readily apparent. To defend the exchange rate and to prevent capital flight, they have to keep interest rates high. Not surprisingly, public opinion in many of these countries (for example, Denmark and Poland) has moved in favour of joining the euro."

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