日韩精品久久一区二区三区_亚洲色图p_亚洲综合在线最大成人_国产中出在线观看_日韩免费_亚洲综合在线一区

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: 天天搞天天操 | 亚洲一二三区视频 | 亚洲产国偷V产偷V自拍A片 | 三a级片 | 日韩成人高清 | 久久精品国产第一区二区 | 污污的网站免费在线观看 | 91成人在线视频 | 性做久久久 | 91免费在线播放 | 国产一级免费视频 | 成人免费AA片在线观看 | 黄视频免费在线观看 | 久久久久国产精品美女毛片 | 猛草视频 | 欧美 亚洲 另类 热图 | 91免费精品国偷自产在线在线 | 午夜免费 | 欧美乱视频 | 国产一区二 | 一区二区日韩 | 无遮挡啪啪成人免费网站 | 天天操很很操 | 久久久国 | 免费人成年短视频在线观看免费网站 | 一区二区三区杨幂在线观看 | 一区二区三区免费网站 | 四虎在线免费观看 | 欧美久久久久久 | 成年在线视频免费视频观看 | 色成人在线 | 午夜a狂野欧美一区二区 | 亚洲精品AV无码喷奶水糖心 | 天天爱天天爽 | 久久夜色精品国产亚洲噜噜 | 日本不卡一区在线观看 | 国产精品极品美女自在线看免费一区二区 | 中文字幕一区在线观看视频 | 国产69久久久欧美黑人A片 | 久久亚洲国产午夜精品理论片 | 成人免费一区二区三区视频网站 |