The Weakness of the Euro

What I've been hearing recently, which I didn't know anything about previously, is the dissolving of the European economy due to the distortions caused by the Euro common currency.  What I hadn't understood before is that the establishment of the Euro as a common currency allowed many of the poorer European nations--Spain, Greece, Portugal, Ireland--to tap into the capital of Europe and to overextend themselves with debt.  This caused an inevitable economic bubble, which when it collapsed, has begun to cause great hardship and the inevitable social disorder.

Many economists forecast this at the time of Maastricht Treaty, establishing the Euro some decade ago.  Without a strong central political authority in Europe--a true United States of Europe--it is not possible to have a strong currency, or so they say.  Economies get distorted, and without the ability to devalue their currency, countries cannot easily make the necessary adjustments.

So Europe isn't as strong as I thought.  And those European countries who were holdouts from the Euro--like Sweden--now seem a bit more prescient.