"We must get used to the idea that in future there will be one country in Europe that will be stronger than all the rest," said Margaret Thatcher glumly in 1990. In the aftermath of the fall of the Berlin wall, Germany did indeed seem poised to emerge as the new Europe's unrivalled powerhouse. The renovation of eastern Germany would, it was assumed, give a huge stimulus to the country's economy. In addition, the newly-capitalist countries of central Europe would provide German industry with a new hinterland. And with the adoption of a single European currency, agreed upon in 1992, Germany would be able to lock in its competitive advantages. No longer would Europe's weaker economies be able to devalue their way out of competing head-on with Germany's industrial juggernaut.
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