在线国产一区二区_成人黄色片在线观看_国产成人免费_日韩精品免费在线视频_亚洲精品美女久久_欧美一级免费在线观看

Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
World
Home / World / Europe

The euro marks 20 years of turmoil and triumph

China Daily | Updated: 2019-01-09 09:31
Share
Share - WeChat
A sculpture showing the Euro currency sign is seen in front of the European Central Bank headquarters in Frankfurt, Dec 30, 2018. [Photo/Xinhua]

The currency is now used by nearly 340 million Europeans in 20 countries

NICOSIA, Cyprus - The center of Frankfurt erupted with fireworks at the stroke of midnight back on Jan 4, 1999 as a common European currency was launched for the first time

Now, almost a generation later, celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of the euro have been largely muted. For many young Europeans, the currencies it replaced like the franc, deutschmark, guilder and lira are learned about in history classes.

When introduced, the euro was first adopted by just 11 member states and widely considered a political as well as an economic decision. European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, one of the only signatories of the Maastricht Treaty still politically active today, remembered the "hard-fought and momentous negotiations on the launch of the Economic and Monetary Union".

Constant turmoil

But the fights and battles had only just begun. The euro's fiercest critics charged that abandoning age-old national currencies was a monumental mistake. Opponents said slapping a common currency on diverse economies with a single interest rate and different levels of productivity, disabled national governments from properly managing their own economies.

Several countries struggled, but it was in Greece where the fragility of the currency was really demonstrated. In 2010, the EU and the International Monetary Fund were forced to bail out the debt-ridden country. Ironically, Greece was initially excluded from joining the euro in 1999 because of its weak economy. The euro plunged below $1.2.

Then, as if things couldn't get any worse, Spain's long-term interest rate rocketed above 7.6 percent in 2012, causing panic about the possibility of a euro collapse.

Troubles didn't end with Spain and Greece. In the summer of 2014, the currency surged to near $1.4, immediately hitting valued export markets. But, maintaining its unpredictability, it then plunged to $1.05-a drop linked to the purchase of assets by the European Central Bank to prop up the economy.

The following year-Athens sucked dry by austerity-was granted an unprecedented third bailout, a move designed to keep it in the single currency, despite some calls in Greece for a return to the drachma.

Mixed feelings

Feelings about the euro have been mixed, regularly swinging from blind allegiance to blind hatred. Still, despite almost constant challenges, the euro has been more resilient than anyone, including its proponents, could have dreamed.

As 2019 opens, however, real and legitimate debates continue over the currency's success and its unpredictable future. For Juncker, the financial foundation of the euro is stable and he insists the currency has matured into a symbol of "unity, sovereignty and stability".

While it is true that the euro is now a solid reserve currency, kept by central banks and the International Monetary Fund, reasons for concern remain, arising in no small measure from the looming exit of the United Kingdom from the EU.

If Brexit wasn't enough, a shaky relationship between Italy and the EU has also caused jitters. Italy, which is the third-largest economy in the eurozone, has a skyrocketing deficit and has been embroiled in a drawn-out battle with Brussels over its latest budget.

There are other areas where the euro has been frustrated. The recent US sanctions slapped on Iran highlighted how crude oil prices remain pegged to the dollar, meaning any attempt to circumvent the dollar as payment would be fraught with complications.

The EU, which opposed the sanctions on Iran, has been exasperated with the dollar's dominance in the oil trade. In fact, in September, Juncker bemoaned the absurdity of Europe paying 80 percent of its energy import bill in dollars, when only roughly 2 percent of the EU's energy imports come from the United States. He also lamented that it was "absurd that European companies buy European airplanes in dollars instead of euro".

But, there is some succor for EU leaders as a recent Euro barometer survey suggested that 64 percent of Europeans believe the introduction of the euro was a good idea. Surprisingly, that figure is up from 51 percent in 2002.

Today the euro is used by nearly 340 million Europeans in 20 EU member states, making it the second most used currency in the world.

But, for a currency which is now in adulthood, its teething troubles are certain to continue.

Xinhua

Most Viewed in 24 Hours
Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US
主站蜘蛛池模板: 精品国产一区二区三区久久久久久 | 免费观看一级特黄欧美大片 | 亚洲美女视频在线观看 | 99精品国产一区二区三区 | 亚洲欧洲精品成人久久奇米网 | 欧美日韩在线观看视频 | 久久九九国产精品 | 美女一级a毛片免费观看97 | 综合精品久久久 | 亚洲国产视频网站 | 久久久久久久伦理 | av一二三区 | 国产免费一区二区三区网站免费 | 亚洲精品视频免费看 | 精品2区| 国产成人精品一区二区三区视频 | 精品视频一区二区 | 国产a免费 | 亚洲欧洲av在线 | 久草精品在线观看 | 99精品亚洲国产精品久久不卡 | 天天操天天碰 | 国产美女永久免费无遮挡 | 超碰青青青 | 久久久精品日本 | 成人国产精品久久 | 成人在线看片 | 青草在线视频 | 久久久精品免费观看 | 久久久一 | 亚洲免费成人 | 亚洲一区国产视频 | 国产综合精品 | 四虎最新影视 | 51ⅴ精品国产91久久久久久 | 91欧美在线| 91成人短视频在线观看 | 欧美成人区| 欧美自拍视频在线观看 | 99re视频在线 | 午夜精品久久久久久久星辰影院 |