When people talk about the fragility of the euro and the increasing fragility of the euro, and perhaps the crisis of the euro, very often non-euro area member states or leaders, underestimate the amount of political capital that is being invested in the euro. And so we view this, and I do not think we are unbiased observers, we think the euro is irreversible.
Slovakia is the fourth country to join the euro area since the cash changeover in 2002: we have so far seen the entry of Slovenia in 2007, followed by Malta and Cyprus in 2008. When the euro banknotes and coins were first introduced on 1 January 2002, they became one of the most visible symbols of Europe.