However, the German ability to continue creating goods that are in demand by the rest of the world continues to give implicit strength to the euro project – an economic safety net that enables policymakers to behave strategically for the long term. And perhaps we should ask why Germany should be castigated for producing goods everyone else wants but can’t seem to make as well for themselves?
A 50 per cent rise in a developed country equity market in two years is dramatic, and many investment managers missed out on some, or all, of the rally, due to a lack of understanding of the real driver behind the continued survival of the eurozone. The euro is not an “experiment”from which “lessons can be learned”. It is not a trial run before the real thing, not a snappy idea conceived in 1999 and then rushed in before the new millennium.
The integration of Europe is a decades-old project, with further decades (or even centuries) still to go and the eventual creation of a united Europe will not be through luck, but rather through a consistent effort over many generations by politicians from numerous countries. The eurozone passed the point of no return some time ago, and while the journey may not be smooth or short, arrival at the final destination is not in doubt.
