Some 75 years in the making, the eurozone as it currently exists has generally succeeded in its aims of establishing shared institutions, political constraints and economic benefits: a single currency, open borders, free trade agreements—and until 2008—flourishing growth.
But cracks that began showing throughout 2015 this year show no sign of closing.
Since the growth in the number of refugees fleeing the conflict in the Middle East, primarily Syria, through Turkey to Greece and beyond, the Schengen agreement on travel sans papiers within large parts of the European Union has come under pressure. Successive countries have blocked the flow of refugees, with restrictions on the Denmark Swedish border the latest development. At the same time, anti-immigrant parties—in Hungary, France, and Poland—have made inroads electorally.
For the past seven years, I have been keeping a record of events associated with the global financial crisis, as they have occurred, and have also delved into the antecedents of the crisis. Over the past few years, events in Europe have attracted my attention, as the aftermath of the events in the United States has played out in the eurozone and beyond.
I am continuing to update the analysis and timeline I have constructed, “Learning Lessons? The Global Financial Crisis in Retrospect,” as more events occur, or past events come to light.
The “European project” is looking shaky, despite Angela Merkel’s popularity in Germany, and the French success at shepherding the 2015 climate change agreement.
