The Euro Crisis and the Future of the European Union-its Origin, Expansion, and Bailout.

Abstract

The author examines the European sovreign debt crisis from an economic point of view, clarifying its structural causes, expansion process and bailout package.
The main focus is on snch questions as: Why did the euro crisis break out long after the global financial crisis rooted in American financial market erros? What are specific differences between these two crises? What was the main structural cause that has given rise to the euro crisis? If it was heterogeneity between southern eurozone countries and northern ones, what has brought about this North-South divide? Why has the crisis been intensified and prolonged so far beyond all expectations? Why have austerity measures been inevitably adopted by all eurozone countries as the golden rule forced by Germany? Who are the main saviors of the euro system?
Speculation about the breakup of the eurozone hastened member countries to implement such ambitious governance reforms that they couldn’t be commonly accepted. The new triangle of the Monetary Union illustrates the following institutional set-up. The responsibility for price stability lies with the ECB; the responsibility for fiscal sustainability lies with individual governments under joint oversight; financial stability is both an individual and a collective responsibility of government; and the safety net of the EFSF/ESM covers the triangle firmly.