"A common currency imposes on us a duty to cooperate more on policy"
About this Quote
A common currency doesn’t just simplify vacations; it rewires sovereignty. Schroder’s line is less a friendly suggestion than a political reality check: once nations share money, they inherit each other’s economic risks, and the old comfort of “your problem, your policy” collapses. The intent is pragmatic and disciplinary at the same time. He’s arguing that monetary union is not a technocratic add-on to Europe; it’s a binding contract that forces governments to align budgets, labor rules, banking oversight, and crisis responses whether they like it or not.
The subtext is aimed at two audiences. To skeptics, it’s a warning: you cannot keep the perks of the euro while hoarding national freedom in everything that makes the euro stable. To partners, especially within the EU’s larger economies, it’s a nudge toward accepting deeper integration as the price of credibility. “Duty” matters here; it frames cooperation not as optional horse-trading but as a moral obligation created by interdependence. That word also quietly deflects the charge of German dominance by presenting coordination as structural necessity rather than Berlin’s preference.
Context does the heavy lifting. Schroder governed during the euro’s early years, when the currency project still relied on optimism, rulebooks, and political will more than tested institutions. His sentence anticipates what later crises made obvious: a shared central bank without shared fiscal and regulatory coordination invites asymmetric shocks, resentment, and blame. The quote works because it treats integration not as ideology but as the unavoidable sequel to a decision already made.
The subtext is aimed at two audiences. To skeptics, it’s a warning: you cannot keep the perks of the euro while hoarding national freedom in everything that makes the euro stable. To partners, especially within the EU’s larger economies, it’s a nudge toward accepting deeper integration as the price of credibility. “Duty” matters here; it frames cooperation not as optional horse-trading but as a moral obligation created by interdependence. That word also quietly deflects the charge of German dominance by presenting coordination as structural necessity rather than Berlin’s preference.
Context does the heavy lifting. Schroder governed during the euro’s early years, when the currency project still relied on optimism, rulebooks, and political will more than tested institutions. His sentence anticipates what later crises made obvious: a shared central bank without shared fiscal and regulatory coordination invites asymmetric shocks, resentment, and blame. The quote works because it treats integration not as ideology but as the unavoidable sequel to a decision already made.
Quote Details
| Topic | Money |
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