The euro at 20: the hopes of the beginning, the doubts of maturity



[ad_1]

The euro area has therefore grown considerably over the first twenty years, bringing together up to eight states. But the single currency was quickly the subject of controversy between Europe's two-speed buying power and the quantitative easing card launched by Mario Draghi in 2012 to float. the euro zone after the great crisis of 2008.

The Draghi Factor and the Italy Knot – The "bazooka" of the governor of the Eurotower, with the financing program of national economies with the purchase of state bonds, prevented the austerity of. stifling many eurozone countries, but that was not enough to prevent members of the Eurozone experienced profoundly different experiences of the single currency on its skin. Two-speed Europe, "Nordic" and Mediterranean Europe, has deeply penalized our economy in particular.

Bloomberg's report on the first twenty years of the euro indicates that Italy, "by linking its highly inflationary economy to German exports without taking steps to help business competitiveness, has lost the war of the # 39; attrition. " So here is our country saw the the purchasing power drops drastically during these twenty years, facing a general increase. We lost 3.8% from 1999 to today, according to a survey conducted by Sole 24 Ore on Monday. But the reasons are related to all internal factors: from weak growth to declining productivity to the crisis of industrial policy, which adds to a restrictive fiscal policy that has aggravated the recession.

A LONG HISTORY TWENTY YEARS – These are the final effects, between shadows and lights, of a project born with so many hopes of unity, stability and common growth, enshrined in the Maastricht Treaty in 1992. Here are the stages of the long process of the euro over the past two decades.

– the December 31, 1998, on the eve of the launch of the euro, I exchange rate The new European Central Bank will announce it: one euro will pay 1,95583 German marks, 6,55957 French francs and 1,936,27 Italian lire. Thousands of bank and stock market managers from across Europe are still working during the Christmas and New Year holidays to make sure everything is ready when the financial markets reopen on 4 January. The stores are preparing to display prices in two currencies.

– the January 1, 1999 The euro becomes the official currency of Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands and the Netherlands. Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. The new currency can be used for bank transfers and payments by check and credit card.

Monday, January 4, 1999 the baptism of the single currency is celebrated on the foreign exchange markets. One euro is initially trading for more than $ 1.18, but a few weeks later, it slips to less than a dollar and at the end of October, it reaches its lowest level ever, at 0.8230 dollars.

– the January 1, 2001 Greece enters the euro zone: it is the twelfth country to adopt the single currency.

– the 1 January 2002, the euro becomes an official legal tenderabout 15 billion banknotes and more than 50 billion coins are put into circulation. The lives of 304 million Europeans are evolving and becoming familiar with the new currency. National currencies are phased out in a process that ends on March 1 of the same year.

– the July 15, 2002 the euro again reaches parity with the dollar.

– in 2003 Sweden, by referendum, joins Denmark and Great Britain to reject the single currency.

– In the following years, the new EU member states chose to adopt the euro: Slovenia in 2007, Cyprus and Malta in 2008, Slovakia on 2009, Estonia 2011, Latvia in 2014 and Lithuania 2015.

– the July 15, 2008 the euro hit a record exchange rate, trading at $ 1,6038, while the United States is shaken by the subprime mortgage crisis. In November, however, the euro zone is in recession.

– in 2010 the problem of sovereign debt in Europe is exploding. In May, the EU and the International Monetary Fund intervene with a bailout package of 110 billion euros for Greece, which is engaged in a severe austerity plan. A month later, the euro drops below $ 1.20.

– In November, even Ireland, whose banks are stifled by debt, benefits from an EU and IMF bailout package of 85 billion euros. Portugal receives similar aid for 78 billion euros in May 2011.

– the July 25, 2012 the interest rate on Spanish government bonds is 7.6%, raising the fear of a collapse of the euro. The next day, ECB President Mario Draghi, in a famous speech promises to "do all that is necessary to preserve the euro".

– In the month of August 2012In just one week, the ECB bought EUR 22 billion worth of Eurozone government bonds, mainly for the benefit of Italy and Spain. In October, the EU decided to cancel part of the Greek debt and to grant a new series of loans.

– a May 2014 the single currency is rising and reaching $ 1.40, slowing down exports. In just a few months, as a result of the ECB's quantitative easing, the euro has collapsed to $ 1.05. In July 2015, Greece has a third bailout plan to avoid ending up in the eurozone.

– in 2016 the ECB declares its intention to stop issuing the 500 euro note by the end of 2018. The note is accused of being a tool for money laundering and terrorist financing.

[ad_2]
Source link