From past experience with national currencies, Europeans could have expected that any of these shocks would trigger a severe crisis in foreign-exchange markets. It is not difficult to imagine what would have happened during the recent financial-market crisis if the euro-area countries still had all their national currencies: immense speculation against some currencies, heavy interventions by central banks, and finally a collapse of the parity system.
以过去各国本币的经验，上述任何一项冲击都会让欧洲人预期外汇市场将引发严重的危机。如果欧元区的国家仍然各自使用本国货币的话，是不难想象在近来的金融市场危机中会发生什么样的情况的：对一些币种的巨大的投机，央行重大的干预，以及平衡机制最后垮台。