This is partly because national governments, rather than building on currency unification to turn the eurozone into an economic powerhouse, tried to hang onto their remaining power. This was perhaps logical politically, but it made no economic sense: Europe’s huge domestic market is one of its main assets, and opportunities to strengthen it should not be squandered.
那么，欧元仍然有意义吗？本来，人们期待欧元带来三大经济好处。人们假设，货币联盟能促进经济一体化、巩固欧洲的长期增长。相反，欧元区内部贸易和投资增长平庸，而增长潜力事实上还有所削弱。这部分是因为国家政府没有在货币统一的基础上更进一步，将欧元区建设成经济超级大国，而是试图保留它们剩下的权力。这也许合乎政治逻辑，但在经济上一无是处：欧洲巨大的内部市场是其主要资产之一，因此决不能浪费加强内部市场的机会。