The €uro. A Dead Duck Walking?

TheBigShort said:

True, but it was all our responsibility.

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It was then, it was in the years before and after 2008 and it is now

TheBigShort said:

Now we are dependent on other countries remaining fiscally prudent. Failure by another country to be fiscally prudent threatens the value and even the existence of the euro, just as Ireland threatened it, Greece threatened it, Portugal and now Italy.

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Very true and for that reason any country not adhering to the rules should join a different club.

Firefly said:

Very true and for that reason any country not adhering to the rules should join a different club

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Joining a different club means default, right? A default, even by Greece or Ireland, would probably trigger a collapse in the euro.
I guess what im pointing out is a glaring flaw in the construct of the euro?

TheBigShort said:

I guess what im pointing out is a glaring flaw in the construct of the euro?

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I believe there is no clear exit mechanism from the EU itself, so I think that's the issue, rather than the currency itself...

Firefly said:

I believe there is no clear exit mechanism from the EU itself, so I think that's the issue, rather than the currency itself...

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I assume you mean the Euro, and not the EU? Although as the Brits are discovering there is no real exit mechanism there either.
But with regard the euro, you are correct there is no real exit mechanism. The reason for that was to prevent the scenarios where a country could arbitrarily leave and/or be cut loose, thus discrediting the reputation of the euro as a leading world currency which was worth its salt.
The Growing and Stability pact is the mechanism to oversee spending and borrowing by governments.
It is shown to be wholly ineffective. Even before the sovereign debt crisis Germany and France routinely breached limits without consequences for them.
Efforts have/are being made to reinforce the measures in which countries can step out of the parameters set in the GSP, but as can be seen with Italy, the reinforcements are rudderless if the political will, or political management, of a countries finances dictate otherwise.