What would happen to the European Union were a country, or several countries, to drop the euro and return to their own currencies? It is the sort of question that you are not really supposed to ask, or at least not if you are a eurozone politician. Angela Merkel said at the weekend: "I have said that if the euro fails, Europe will fail...."
But intuitively we all know that is wrong. Or rather, if the EU were such a weak entity that one misstep – some members adopting a single currency without proper preparation – were to reverse more than 50 years of co-operation, then there is something wrong with the whole EU concept. But she also yesterday said something else that rings right: that the eurozone's current problems and worries will not be fixed swiftly.
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