Even before the crisis, it was clear that citizens and governments alike regarded (wrongly) the euro as a mere practicality. Its introduction was viewed as a technocratic affair, to be handled by central bankers and finance ministers, not as the cornerstone of a common European identity.
这一幕并没有发生。即便在危机前，显然公民和政府都（错误地）认为欧元只不过是一种便利。欧元的引入被认为是技术事务，由央行行长和财政部长负责，而不是同一个欧洲的身份的基石。欧元的创造并没有让欧盟预算增加一个欧元，也没有带来更深层次的政治一体化。共同货币所需要的承诺一直都被低估了。