Another fudge will bring us closer to end of euro

EU summits risk becoming like the boy who cried wolf; with every emergency EU summit over the past couple of years, we have all warned that the latest one would be the crucial one that would decide the future of the eurozone, one way or the other.

In the event, all of the summits held have proved to be a total disappointment, yet the eurozone is still intact and the currency has not imploded. However, there is a political, social and economic limit to how long this can be sustained. The economic and fiscal crises in the afflicted countries are getting worse and threaten to blow up the system.

Historians correctly draw parallels with events such as the Great Depression of the 1930s, the breakup of the gold standard, and the collapse of Bretton Woods. Politicians failed to grasp the nettle and the ensuing economic chaos resulted in political chaos and ultimately war in some cases.