The quiet, unexpected vindication of the euro

A new euro coin depicting a map of Croatia is showcased at the Croatian central bank in Zagreb. Croatia adopted the euro and joined the Schengen zone on January 1.  [ARMIN DURGUT/AP]

Behind the horrors of war, amidst successive international crises, a favorable reality for Europe (and Greece) is quietly unfolding. What was once a factor of division and weakness for the European Union is now a pillar of unity and strength. The euro, at the heart of the EU's first major crisis of the 21st century, has evolved from a weak core to a European unifier. Faced with the worst combination of war, energy crisis and stagflation in at least five decades, the euro area is not only enduring but expanding.

It was not that long ago when serious analysts were competing in dismal predictions of Grexit and eurozone disintegration at the two peak phases of the Greek crisis (2010-12 and 2015). It was not only the Greek political drama that fueled these scenarios, but also the severe weaknesses of an imperfect monetary union, with no fiscal, banking or political integration to...

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