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Growing pains

The euro area celebrates its 15th anniversary by welcoming its 18th member

By P.W., J.M.F and A.M.

The euro area celebrates its 15th anniversary with its 18th member

WHEN Europe’s single currency was born in 1999 it could never have anticipated such a troublesome four years. Since 2010 bail-outs of Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Cyprus have been followed by severe austerity, economic upheaval and political fractions across the euro area. At the start of 2014 Latvia became the 18th member of the currency bloc. Though Ireland exited its bail-out programme at the end of last year, Greece, Portugal and Cyprus are likely to require additional funds (ie: another bail-out). Meanwhile Germany’s faith in the project remains strong—that may be because it has been one of the largest beneficiaries. GDP per person has risen by over 20% in Germany since 1999; that contrasts sharply with a 3% decline in Italy. Full article here.

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