“The effort to bind states together may lead, instead, to a huge increase in frictions among them. If so, the event would meet the classical definition of tragedy: hubris (arrogance); Ate (folly); nemesis (destruction).” Thus, in December 1991, did I conclude an article on the rush to monetary union. I am aware of the commitment of Europe's elite to the success of the European project. But the crisis is profound – for the eurozone, the European Union and the world. As Wolfgang Münchau has pointed out, last week's European Council was not a solution but a fudge.
“试图将众多国家捆绑在一起，可能反而会导致这些国家摩擦大幅增多。如果是这样，这件事将会符合悲剧的经典定义：傲睨神明（傲慢）；犯罪女神（愚蠢）；复仇女神（毁灭）。”1991年12月，我在一篇有关匆忙构建欧洲货币联盟的文章中，作出了这样一个结论。我知道欧洲精英对这一欧洲项目的成功所作出的承诺。但对于欧元区、欧盟(EU)乃至世界而言，这场危机是深刻的。正如沃尔夫冈•明肖(Wolfgang Munchau)所指出的，最近的欧盟理事会(European Council)会议并没有提供解决方案，而只是在敷衍了事。