In fact, it can rightly be called the most significant innovation in monetary history since the creation of the Bretton Woods system in 1944. This project is also unparalleled because clear preconditions needed to be met before EMU could be launched. The countries participating in monetary union needed to pass a stability test beforehand. Only then could their currencies merge to form the euro.
By contrast, in the past currencies only ceased to exist after having failed to function as a store of value. The historical, political and economic dimensions of this project are extraordinary. I sometimes get the impression that this is not being given its due on either side of the Atlantic – Europe or the United States.