This year marks two decades of monetary union, which is by any measure a momentous anniversary. Not so long ago, the euro area economy was scarred by a level of unemployment probably unseen since the Great Depression, and fundamental questions were being asked about whether the euro would survive. Today 11 million more people are in work. Public trust in the euro has risen to its highest level ever. Across the euro area, policymakers are reaffirming that the euro is irreversible. But I see today more as an occasion to reflect than to celebrate. The euro is an eminently political project, a fundamental step towards ... (full story)