The fallout from the international financial crisis of 2008 was a sudden stop in inflows to the periphery, triggering a sovereign debt crisis in Greece and banking crises in Spain and Ireland as property markets collapsed. In Greece, the sovereign crisis weakened banks, resulting in increased financial fragility and a banking crisis.
Trade within the euro area has increased and, thanks to the single currency, firms find it much easier to estimate the value of the payments owed to them. They do not run any exchange rate risk. But the euro has also been a success in political terms.