is Professor of European Integration at London Metropolitan University. His publications include The European Central Bank: problems of legitimacy, development and stability, LERC Dossier, Kogan Page, 2001, and After Maastricht: a guide to European monetary union, Lawrence and Wishart, London, 1997.
Is the monetary union worth preserving if it means the virtual colonization of the weakest member economies? Assessing responses to the euro crisis, John Grahl argues that the real cause – private sector deficits across the periphery – remains unaddressed. Instead, a regime is emerging in which EU creditor authorities override national decision-making in every aspect of public policy.
The eurocrisis is a logical consequence of the way the Eurozone was constructed, writes John Grahl. A dogmatic belief in the intrinsic stability of market economies left competitive imbalances ignored as easy credit provided the illusion of growth. The current attempts to stabilise the Eurozone are inadequate: a Europeanisation of debt is necessary.
