‘The Eurozone is in TATTERS’ Top US economist says whole system is broken
THE euro crisis is far from over, according to one of the world’s leading economists who called the single currency “a system almost designed to fail”.
By DAVID DAWKINS
Express.co.uk
Thu, Jun 14, 2018
Joseph Stiglitz, the former chief economist of the World Bank, said the eurozone had utterly failed to “enhance solidarity and advance the goal of European integration”, in a damning indictment for the single currency just a day before the European Central Bank debates how and when it can end its quantitative easing policy designed to pull the eurozone economy out of recession.
Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank is in Riga today to announce his decision on whether or not the eurozone has recovered sufficiently from its 2009 sovereign debt crisis to end the practice of quantitative easing (QE), or ‘money printing’ stimulus.
The move to withdraw QE – the buying of government bonds by the central bank to increase the flow of money and boost short-term growth – will be seen as a sign that the eurozone is finally ready to move on from the debt crisis that shocked the continent, bringing Greece, Italy, Portugal and Ireland to the brink of collapse.
However, Mr Stiglitz Nobel laureate, and one time chairman of the US President’s Council of Economic Advisers claimed Germany’s ongoing rule and Italy’s growing anger could yet leave the eurozone “in tatters”.
Writing in the Guardian, the US economist attacked the single currency’s fundamentals, arguing “if one country does poorly, blame the country; if many countries are doing poorly, blame the system”.
He writes: “The euro was supposed to bring shared prosperity, which would enhance solidarity and advance the goal of European integration. In fact, it has done just the opposite, slowing growth and sowing discord.”
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