Relative to the U.S. dollar, the euro of the E.U. was not in as dire shape in 2011 as was typically presumed. As the euro celebrated its ten-year anniversary on January 1, 2012 at $1.29, a ten-year perspective could assuage the irrational exaggeration of fear over the currency’s impending demise. Besides the human propensity to develop tunnel vision—looking only right straight ahead—we tend to over-dramatize some things (while ignoring other things).
The full essay is at "Essays on the E.U. Political Economy," available at Amazon.