EU leaders sideline euro divisions at summit on future

EU leaders meeting in a mountainous city in Romania yesterday will discuss the future of Europe, but the fate of the euro will be mostly ignored. Launching the single currency is probably the EU's most ambitious achievement yet, two decades later, it is little-loved and the 19 countries that use it are split, mostly between richer and poorer members.

Against this backdrop, the euro will only be referred to in passing at a Sibiu summit that was originally intended as a renewal of vows by the remaining 27 member states after a now-delayed Brexit. "There is a lot of unfinished business, which we haven't addressed and I very much doubt that Sibiu will get us much further forward," said Fabian Zuleeg, head of European Policy Centre in Brussels.

The euro is widely acknowledged to be imperfect and in need of reform to unify what are vastly disparate economies, even more so after the eurozone debt crisis. But reform, when it does happen, has so far come only in an emergency when there is no choice but to bridge divisions.

"The objective of Sibiu is not to really discuss the issues, but rather to show unity by focusing on consensual themes," a European source protested. The idea for the Sibiu summit came largely from European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker, who as a former Luxembourg prime minister has a long history in the story of the euro.

Ahead of Sibiu, an angry Juncker blamed inaction and the lack of ambition in the eurozone for the distrust of the richer nations towards their poorer partners. "There is no progress with the deepening of the monetary union because the Netherlands, Austria and all too often Germany stand in the way," Juncker told Handelsblatt newspaper ahead of the summit.

"We don't love each other. We have lost our collective libido," he said. Downplaying issues with the euro will be especially frustrating for French President Emmanuel Macron who came to office in 2017 with a master plan to better integrate the single currency union.

This included the creation of a eurozone budget as well as a dedicated finance minister -- both ideas that have either been watered down or scrapped entirely. Juncker also had his own big plans for the eurozone, different from

Macron's but also intended to surf on an improving economy.

EU leaders sideline euro divisions at summit on future

EU leaders meeting in a mountainous city in Romania yesterday will discuss the future of Europe, but the fate of the euro will be mostly ignored. Launching the single currency is probably the EUs most ambitious achievement yet, two decades later, it is little-loved and the 19 countries that use it are split, mostly between richer and poorer members. Against this backdrop, the euro will only be referred to in passing at a Sibiu summit that was originally intended as a renewal of vows by the remaining 27 member states after a now-delayed Brexit. There is a lot of unfinished business, which we havent addressed and I very much doubt that Sibiu will get us much further forward, said Fabian Zuleeg, head of European Policy Centre in Brussels. The euro is widely acknowledged to be imperfect and in need of reform to unify what are vastly disparate economies, even more so after the eurozone debt crisis. But reform, when it does happen, has so far come only in an emergency when there is no choice but to bridge divisions. The objective of Sibiu is not to really discuss the issues, but rather to show unity by focusing on consensual themes, a European source protested. The idea for the Sibiu summit came largely from European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker, who as a former Luxembourg prime minister has a long history in the story of the euro. Ahead of Sibiu, an angry Juncker blamed inaction and the lack of ambition in the eurozone for the distrust of the richer nations towards their poorer partners. There is no progress with the deepening of the monetary union because the Netherlands, Austria and all too often Germany stand in the way, Juncker told Handelsblatt newspaper ahead of the summit. We dont love each other. We have lost our collective libido, he said. Downplaying issues with the euro will be especially frustrating for French President Emmanuel Macron who came to office in 2017 with a master plan to better integrate the single currency union. This included the creation of a eurozone budget as well as a dedicated finance minister -- both ideas that have either been watered down or scrapped entirely. Juncker also had his own big plans for the eurozone, different from Macrons but also intended to surf on an improving economy.