Infographic: The Failure of the Eurozone

• When the idea of the Eurozone was actively promoted in the 1980s and 1990s, the main advantage of the future monetary union was the expected "convergence" or, in other words, the rapprochement that it would bring about between the various member states.
• The idea is that through the shared currency, the economies of the various member states will be integrated into a single whole, which will allow the less developed economies to catch up with the economic giants of the union, especially Germany.
• However, as is often the case, the theory of the Eurobureaucrats turns out to have nothing to do with reality. In the nearly 20 years since its existence, the Eurozone has NOT achieved the desired convergence between the poorer and less developed economies of southern and the far more advanced economies of northwestern Europe.
• Since 2001, the gap between poor and rich Eurozone member states has been widening in key economic indicators such as average annual wages and GDP per capita.
• Instead of the sought-after "convergence", since the monetary union was formed, the Eurozone member states have been getting... a huge jump in average government debt among them.

The data is categorical, and that is why in its 2018 report the International Monetary Fund concluded that the Eurozone is failing to achieve the desired convergence between poor and rich economies. That is, in this sense, the Eurozone is a categorical failure. It is this historical context that we must take into account when we headlong and recklessly embark on the fastest possible accession to the Eurozone. The data clearly show that the euro is far from a panacea for our economic problems. Quite the opposite.

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