The euro and its troubles

摘要

Not many weeks ago, the question would have been almost risible: is the euro here to stay? Now the French and Dutch have rejected the European Union's constitution, and bad economic news about the euro area, especially its biggest economies, keeps trickling in. Jean-Claude Trichet, president of the European Central Bank (ECB), may dismiss the thought that Europe's monetary union might break up as "absurd". For now, he is surely right: the euro zone is not about to fall apart, and with central and eastern European countries still keen to join, is more likely to grow than shrink in the next few years. Yet Europe's elite can no longer wave the idea away as mere impertinence.