"At root was a failure to grasp the elemental point that currency unions with no treasury or political union to back them up are inherently vulnerable to debt c

"At root was a failure to grasp the elemental point that currency unions with no treasury or political union to back them up are inherently vulnerable to debt crises. States facing a shock no longer have sovereign tools to defend themselves. Devaluation risk is switched into bankruptcy risk." This is the fundamental issue. It's not a surprise. It has been explained by many commentators even before the Euro existed (see, for instance: [1]). [1] http://www.bondeconomics.com/2015/07/book-review-eurozone-dystopia.html http://www.bondeconomics.com/2015/07/book-review-eurozone-dy...