This paper reviews the performance of the euro area since the euro's launch 20 years ago. It argues that the euro … crisis has exposed existential flaws in the euro regime. Intra-area divergences and the corresponding buildup of imbalances … unemployment continue to plague euro crisis countries. Its huge current account surplus highlights that the euro currency union …

who see the euro as the advent of a newly open, large, and efficient regime which will lead to improvements in European … and in particular in German competitiveness; those who see the euro as a weakening of the German commitment to price …

have had even worse results for Germany. Fragility and divergence undermine the euro's long-term survival …

of the OMT, changes in the Spanish and, to a lesser extent, Italian spread spilled over to many other euro area member … states, and also affected the euro-dollar exchange rate. Peak effects generally materialized after 2-3 days. Since the OMT …

To fight deflationary pressures in the euro area, the ECB has been conducting exceptional policies, such as negative … private sector. All these measures have pushed long term interest rates downward in the euro area. German public bonds yield …