The turn of the century was the age of “the end of history”, when conflicts between great powers were seen as a relic of the past, replaced by a widespread liberal order. The notion that countries should view their currencies as tools of foreign economic policy became unfashionable.
As a result, few politicians in Europe took note that, after quickly establishing itself as a global currency, the euro gradually lost international standing from the mid-2000s onwards. You can see this on my first slide, which shows a composite index measuring the euro’s international role. Today, it stands at an historic low.