At the height of the European sovereign debt crisis, the European Central Bank decided to purchase distressed European government bonds. Even worse, and more importantly, the ECB is providing direct support of several hundred billions of euros to troubled banks via its normal monetary policy...

The Greek government budget situation plays a central role in the debt crisis in the euro area. Strong consolidation measures need to be implemented, with potential adverse effects on the Greek economy and further credit requirements. Debt conversion might therefore become a reasonable...

The following analysis of the 1992/93 crisis of the European Monetary System finds that the unfolding of the single market dynamics will make European Monetary Union a difficult stage to achieve. Further monetary integration is only feasible if full employment and sustained growth are achieved...