Otmar Issing, one of the fathers of the euro, correctly states the principle on which the single currency was founded. As he wrote in the FT last week, the euro was meant to be a monetary union but not a political one. Participating states established a common central bank but refused to surrender the right to tax their citizens to a common authority. This principle was enshrined in the Maastricht treaty and has since been rigorously interpreted by the German constitutional court. The euro was a unique and unusual construction whose viability is now being tested.
欧元创始人之一奥特马尔•伊辛(Otmar Issing)正确地阐述了这种单一货币的创立准则。正如他上周在英国《金融时报》撰稿指出的，欧元的设计宗旨就是成为一个货币联盟，而非政治联盟。欧元区成员国成立了一家共同的央行，但拒绝将对本国公民的征税权交予一个共同的机构。这一准则被写进了《马斯特里赫特条约》(Maastricht treaty)，并在后来得到了德国宪法法院的严格解释。欧元结构独特，其可行性正面临考验。