Is this how the Euro works?

[Flo]

How is that going to work? IMO, France and Germany will carry on doing exactly what they want to do, just as they always have done within the EU.

For a while, yes, but they're slowly painting themselves into a corner, ensuring more and more countries will demand exceptions too, with less and less reasons and leverage to refuse. Furthermore, they will at some point realise how dim the chance of any other European country entering the euro with the example they give.

I'm not seeing I'll live long enough to see that happen, though

 

[Flo]

Re: Re: Is this how the Euro works?

There is something known as L'exception Francais which pretty much means what it says.

A basic French saying is "l'exception confirme la règle" (the exception confirms the rule). It refers primarily to French grammar, where you can't find a rule that actually works, and you have to spend all your time at school discovering the exceptions that doe. It has naturally pervaded all aspects of the French behavior and is now believed to have affected even our genes. Of course, given the fact that other countries haven't been subjected to that mutation, they must obey the rules and are not concerned by the exceptions !

 

[Chaos]

Re: Re: Re: Is this how the Euro works?

A basic French saying is "l'exception confirme la règle" (the exception confirms the rule). It refers primarily to French grammar, where you can't find a rule that actually works, and you have to spend all your time at school discovering the exceptions that doe. It has naturally pervaded all aspects of the French behavior and is now believed to have affected even our genes. Of course, given the fact that other countries haven't been subjected to that mutation, they must obey the rules and are not concerned by the exceptions !

We have the same saying in German, "Ausnahmen bestätigen die Regel" (okay, we say "exceptions", in plural, but it means the same). This is true for our grammar, too, and it applies for most other areas of life (just look at our tax laws - 70% of the world´s tax legislation is in German).
Maybe it is really a genetical trait. Small wonder France and German are usually so close politically.

 

[Mike B.]

Yup,,,, that's one of the reasons why i am very much against it. This is precisely what will happen.
Unfortunately a majority of my fellow countrymen seems to think otherwise, i hope they get more enlightened before we are going to vote again (we voted NO the first time).

I seem to remember you had a funny analogy about it. One I can relate to. You said the EU was like your kids asking for ice cream, "Can I have some?" NO "Can I have some?" NO "Can I have some?" NO "Can I have some?" YES already just leave me alone...

 

[shanek]

The smaller countries know they are along for the ride. The theory is that, even if they are too small to have much influence, the benefits will still be substantial.

Not really. If you want to talk economic theory, the reason for having separate currencies in the first place is to make sure you as a small country don't lose capital to larger countries. With separate currencies, capital can only leave the local economy in the form of an exchange—which means the money is coming right back in. But with a common currency, there's nothing to stop people making Euros in a smaller country from spending them in a larger one, and no guarantee that the capital will flow back in.