The euro ark - by Joaquín Almunia
The euro is celebrating its tenth anniversary against the background of the most difficult economic climate since its birth. The financial storm that swept in from the United States, and the onset of a severe economic downturn, confronts Europe with unprecedented challenges. Faced with the biggest test in its history, the euro is far from steering into disaster, as the Nobel laureate economist Milton Friedman predicted ten years ago. On the contrary, Europe’s Economic and Monetary Union is proving a major asset in these tumultuous times.In ten short years, the euro revolutionized the global economic environment, rising to the status of the world’s second currency and rivaling the dollar as a medium for international trade and finance. The EMU is now the world’s largest market, and continues to grow.
With Slovakia’s entry on January 1, the euro spans 16 countries and 329 million citizens. The benefits of a monetary union based on a stable macroeconomic framework and governed by an independent central bank are manifest: the euro area has enjoyed low inflation and low interest rates for much of the last decade, a boost in trade and investment, and rapid integration of financial markets. Moreover, 16 million jobs have been created over the last 10 years, a record more successful than even the US.
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