As the euro nears its 10th anniversary, the celebration season started this week with the publication of a report by the European Commission that combines hype, critical assessment and cautious recommendations. We share much of its assessment, but we think that its prescriptions should go further. Here is why.

The Commission is right to claim that the euro is a resounding success: the transition to the new currency was astonishingly smooth and, for all the talks about break-up, the reality is one of a steady increase in membership of the eurozone. Citizens have admittedly been disgruntled by price rises in energy, food and some services, but these have clearly more to do with global conditions and the lack of competition in sheltered sectors than with the introduction of the new currency.