>>>>http://www.iht.com/articles/2009/03/01/europe/union.php
>>>>
>>>>Snippet:
>>>>
>>>>The leaders of the European Union gathered Sunday in Brussels for an emergency summit meeting designed to tamp down the centrifugal forces unleashed by the global economic crisis that threaten to spin the bloc - and its single currency - apart
>>>
>>>These are difficult times. The EU is not a country and even though there is a 'EU government' its power is limited as how to enforce policies to countries. Yes there is the question of leadership, but the situation would have been far worse without the EU. One thing is certain tyhe Euro has protected a lot of countries from huge devaluation of their currency (e.g. Ireland). This is exactly the reason why other, mostly eastern european countries are in trouble: They do not have the euro. In order to be eligible, a country has to be in complience with some economic rules. And in these hard times, that will be impossible.
>>>
>>>So what to do? Protect your own market or help out the ones in dire straits? In essence this is the same question every nation is wrestling with. But in the case of the EU, with its unique form of 'government' it is esspecially challenging.
>>>
>>>Time will tell..
>>
>>OTOH Walter some economists here are very happy that the pound is not in the euro as the pounds decline in value is supposed to make us more competitive (if we still made anything to sell). And I belive some European politicians have complained about that change in value as being "unfair"
>
>I have no strong opinion on that. If the euro is high it is cheap to buy something from abroad, if it is low then it is expensive. We've gone from a low value (directly after the introduction of the euro) to high. Some will profit, others don't..

But you said Ireland was being protected from a huge devaluation of its currency by its euro membership. That might not be good for Ireland