In a genuine currency union, wealth transfers and automatic stabilizers mean that such discrepancies do not pose a problem. With the eurozone as a whole benefiting from a relatively solid balance-of-payments position, European leaders initially failed to foresee the risk incurred by letting competitiveness differentials grow, and underestimated the threat posed by some countries’ accumulation of significant external debt.
在一个真正的货币联盟中，财富转移和自动稳定器意味着这样的差异不会成为问题。欧元区作为一个整体因相对稳固的收支而受益，但欧元区领导人一开始就没能预见到放任竞争力差异增加所蕴含的风险，也低估了某些国家外部债务激增带来的威胁。