The Euro/EU

[JR8]

The subject has been discussed within the BREXIT topic and the 'Currency moves' topic, I thought it might be better to start another topic for the EU's ongoing challenges, esp. since they're probably going to run for the foreseeable...

I was surprised to read a news item this morning. In fact for a moment I thought it might be a parody piece, or a late April Fool joke. Well, that shows how unused I am to reading that a politician [or equivalent] admits to having totally FU.
[excerpts]
------------------
'IMF admits disastrous love affair with the euro, apologises for the immolation of Greece
The International Monetary Fund’s top staff misled their own board, made a series of calamitous misjudgments in Greece, became euphoric cheerleaders for the euro project, ignored warning signs of impending crisis, and collectively failed to grasp an elemental concept of currency theory.
This is the lacerating verdict of the IMF’s top watchdog on the Fund’s tangled political role in the eurozone debt crisis, the most damaging episode in the history of the Bretton Woods institutions. [continues]
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/201 ... for-the-i/
-------------------

'Damning Internal Report Shows IMF Repeatedly Bent Rules, Caved in to Merkel on Greek Bailout
An internal IMF report shows the IMF repeatedly succumbed to political pressure, ignored its own rules, and kept many executive board members in the dark about the state of affairs.
[concludes]
The fund’s involvement in eurozone programmes had been a “qualified success” in the face of unprecedented systemic challenge, Ms Lagarde said.
Yes indeed. The bailout was a “qualified success” for Germany and the creditors (for now), but an unmitigated disaster for Greece.'
https://mishtalk.com/2016/07/28/damning ... k-bailout/

[BBCWatcher]

Here's the BBC's report on the report.

I don't think there's any serious debate among economists that the euro was a policy mistake, and many prominent economists warned that it would be. However, the United Kingdom never joined the Eurozone, and it has a permanent currency derogation within the EU. I have no idea why anybody was making euro-related arguments in the Brexit context. It didn't make any logical sense. Ironically, leaving the EU makes it more likely that the United Kingdom will join the Eurozone at some point in the future. The permanent currency derogation is only tied to the United Kingdom's current EU membership. Any hypothetical future application for readmission would be under brand new terms, including currency terms.