The euro at 20 [What Think Tanks are thinking]

In sintesi 15-02-2019

The euro marked its 20th anniversary in January 2019, as debates continued about the single currency's track-record and the shape of future reform. When the 11 original members of the euro area irrevocably fixed their exchange rates in 1999, and transferred authority over their monetary policies to the European Central Bank, the currency's advocates hailed the move as the crowning achievement of European integration. Whilist some economists have blamed the euro area's one-size-fits-all approach to interest rates for weakening growth and increasing economic divergences between certain countries, others have pointed to the euro's role in underpinning the single market as well as offering resilience to Europe in withstanding the 2008-2009 financial crisis and its aftermath. Opinion polls shows the euro continues to be popular among citizens. This note brings together commentaries, analyses and studies by major international think tanks and research institutes on the euro's merits, its future and related issues. Earlier publications on the topics can be found in a previous edition of the series published in November 2018, PE 630.268.