European monetary union is a bumble-bee that has taken flight. However improbable the celestial design, it has succeeded in real life. A decade ago, critics predicted financial disaster when 11 European countries agreed to fuse their currencies. That some economists are today seriously – if prematurely – debating whether the euro can overtake the US dollar as the world’s reserve currency underscores Emu’s hard-earned credibility.

The Emu’s technical achievements are striking. Inflation expectations have been firmly anchored with the eurozone inflation rate averaging just over 2 per cent in the past decade. Yet interest rates have fallen to their lowest levels in a generation. Monetary union has stimulated intra-area trade and financial market integration – albeit not as successfully as many had initially hoped. Some 16m jobs have been created in the eurozone over the past decade (2m more than in the US over the same period), partly redressing Europe’s shameful employment record.