If we were to try to compare the architecture of the euro area to that of a real building, I don’t think the La Redoute here in Bad Godesberg would immediately spring to anyone’s mind. This beautiful building is simply too symmetrical.
Instead, you would probably think of structures such as the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao or the Gehry buildings in Düsseldorf’s Media Harbour, because one of main features of the euro area is its asymmetry. It brings together 19 largely autonomous fiscal policies under a single monetary policy.