Is the euro a write-off?

„Nothing can be ruled out completely,“ says Otmar Issing, German professor of economics and a member of the European Central Bank governing board. „But it will not happen, the euro will not disappear. The costs would be enormous and countries would lose on that in the end.“

Issing knows what he's talking about. His book about the future of the euro is regarded as the best piece of work of its kind. But Issing admits that many things have turned the wrong way up since the book came out nearly a year ago. There are even unofficial opinions in Brussels saying that some countries might want to leave the eurozone.

„This is indisputably the most difficult moment since the euro was adopted,“ Issing said. The question for Czechs is clear: Should they be happy that they still have crowns in their wallets unlike their Slovak neighbours, or should they try to catch up with their eastern neighbour as soon as possible?

Overpriced Dublin

After years of disputes among both economists and politicians, the euro was finally introduced in ten countries in January 1999, and from the very beginning of its existence, it was perceived as the key to a closer European integration.

But now the financial crisis reveals how different the current 16 eurozone members are and shows that the euro does not have to fit some countries at an…