That share climbed rapidly in the aftermath of the euro s introduction.

The euro system was designed to deliver prosperity and stability for all.

Our economy has not been adversely affected by staying out.

Chronic stagnation is too high a price to pay for adopting the euro.

When the euro was launched, the US dollar euro ( ) exchange rate stood at 1.16 1.

The euro s becoming a major reserve currency bestows important economic advantages on the euro zone economy.

The interest rates on the euro denominated sovereign debt of the twelve euro zone governments are all very similar.

Education grant amounts for euro zone currency areas effective 1 January 2002

But Cyprus, Malta, and Slovakia have since followed suit in making the euro their currency.

The more the eurozone s ineffective governance is criticized, the greater becomes the euro s importance as a non political currency that represents a secure store of value.

The euro s introduction led to housing booms in countries like Spain and Ireland.

But the euro was an incomplete currency it had a central bank but no central treasury.

But the ground under the euro may well begin to shift if things don t change.

Seen from Wall Street, the euro was moving closer to becoming a normal currency.

The Maastricht treaty explicitly prohibits a eurozone country from leaving the euro, but says nothing about a temporary leave of absence (and therefore doesn t prohibit one).

One possibility is a gradual, market determined erosion of the dollar as a reserve currency in favor of the euro.

WASHINGTON, DC The creation of the euro just over a decade ago was a courageous and unique experiment.

The introduction of the euro by a number of them Estonia is likely to follow shortly has also been a remarkable success story.

After all, interest rates in Southern Europe were well above 10 in the decade before the euro was introduced.

Those who would write off the euro as a failure should consider that it is only ten years old.

Today, the euro a currency without a country lacks a long track record of credibility.

With effect from January 2002, the currency of accounts was changed to euros (GC.8 Dec.16).

Many of the new members will be small countries who will introduce the euro someday and will want to have a seat on the Executive Board.

Huge investments worth trillions of euros will be needed to meet global energy requirements.

And they express considerable pride in the euro s growing role as an international reserve currency, as well as resolve to do whatever it takes to defend the currency union s integrity.

The euro was created partly in order to bolster internal market efficiency and prevent currency volatility.

The euro s becoming a major reserve currency bestows important economic advantages on the euro zone economy. Europeans should thank the Chinese currency peg for the part it is playing in this.

Children's and secondary dependant's allowance amounts for euro zone currency areas effective 1 January 2002

In both countries, majorities voted against adopting the euro because they feared that national welfare norms would become curtailed.

When it suits them, the euro is no longer the currency of a highly successful and integrated economy, but a currency shared by a collection of sovereign creditor and debtor countries, and the IMF thus has a responsibility to support the debtor members.

Germany, in particular, must acknowledge that, far from being an innocent victim, its economy is the eurozone s biggest beneficiary and has been since the euro s inception.

The argument that the crisis stems from the eurozone not being an optimal currency area is similarly flawed.

But a more specific similarity is that highly indebted eurozone countries and Chinese provinces and counties have been spending too much of a common currency.

Twenty years after the European Parliament was elected by universal suffrage in 1979, the introduction of the euro marked a logical extension of the European dream.

Indeed, even if the eurozone breaks up, each European country could adopt a different currency but retain common symbols.

The same is true of developments like the Union's common foreign and security policy or Monetary Union, with its Euro and European Central Bank.

One thing is certain these three problem areas reform and recapitalization of the banking system, a eurobond regime, and an exit mechanism need to be resolved to make the euro a viable currency.

But, in the short run, austerity, lower wages, and reforms are recessionary, while the adjustment process in the eurozone has been asymmetric and recessionary deflationary.

As a result of these efforts, the renminbi has emerged as the second most used currency in trade finance, overtaking the euro, and the fifth most used for international payments. Moreover, it is increasingly preferred in currency market transactions and official foreign exchange reserves.

This stance led to a dramatic acceleration in European integration, culminating in the adoption of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 and the introduction of the euro in 1999.

The pro euro politicians ignored economists warnings that imposing a single currency on a dozen heterogeneous countries was bound to create serious economic problems.

Many proponents of the euro claimed that it would quickly evolve as an alternative reserve currency alongside the dollar, or even replace it, in global markets.

It could be argued, for example, that Eurobonds would allow eurozone members to pool their financial strength and, by enhancing the attractiveness of the euro as a reserve currency, hold down borrowing costs to such an extent that AAA rated countries are not overburdened.

Yet, in the euro crisis, the center s responsibility is even greater than it was in 1982 or 1997 it designed a flawed currency system and failed to correct the defects.

Not against the euro, which is already expensive and is the currency of an economy with banking and structural problems that are even more serious than those of the US. Not against the yen, which is the currency of an economy that refuses to grow.