CNN News:欧元争论剑拔弩张 或将走向终结

Across the Atlantic, are the days of Euro numbered? The currency is used by 19 members of the European Union and more than 330 million Europeans.
But a number of politicians, liberal and conservative, are talking about getting rid of it, and bringing currencies like the lira, the drachma and peseta out of retirement.
Some economists say Europe's countries have different governments, and therefore, shouldn't share the same currency. Some blamed the Euro and the rules in place for using it for high unemployment or forced spending cuts for governments. On the plus side, smaller countries with smaller economies have benefited from the Euro and some of the stability it's provided. But its future is uncertain.
SUBTITLE: The rise and fall of Euro.
REPORTER: January 1st, 1999, the Euro was born, trading just shy of $1.17. Not everyone was celebrating, discussions between European leaders have been forged in the run-up.
JOHN MAJOR, FORMER U.K. PRIME MINISTER: Certainly, there is no chance whatsoever of all 15 states either being willing or being able to move for a single currency at that date.

REPORTER: John Major was right. Denmark and the U.K. officially opted out. Sweden never joined and one member was left out in the cold due to high inflation and high debt, Greece. It took two extra years to join.
The Euro plummeted below a dollar in its first year, as the dotcom bubble bursts in the U.S. Then, in 2008, the global financial crisis took hold. The Euro had a rocky ride as banks all over the world went into failure. Then, entire countries found themselves unable to pay their debts.
And so, came a string of international bailouts. Ireland, Portugal, Spain, Cyprus and Greece — but not once but thrice.
In 2012, ECB president, Mario Draghi, stabilized the Euro with a few select words.
MARIO DRAGHI, ECB PRESIDENT: Do whatever it takes to preserve the Euro.
REPORTER: Battles between Greece and the E.U. continue to bubble up in Brussels, with creditors questioning Greece's commitment to economic reforms.
JEROEN DIJSSELBLOEM, EUROGROUP PRESIDENT: There is, of course, a major issue of trust. Can the Greek government be trusted to actually do what they are promising?
REPORTER: Britain's vote to leave the E.U. and the rise of Euro skeptic political parties is the biggest threat it's faced yet.