NEW YORK — As euro-zone leaders face growing uncertainty in financial markets about the public finances of Greece and other member countries, their statements, albeit somewhat vague, underscore a much larger story — one that will force firms and investors to question their assumptions about Europe's economic, financial and political environment.
Let's first dispense with a powerful emerging myth. Greece's troubles have encouraged some to wonder aloud if the euro zone can survive its growing internal imbalances. Such doubts ignore the political and cultural factors that buttress a deep European commitment to preserve the monetary union.
The euro was created partly to bolster internal market efficiency and prevent currency volatility. But it is also the product of a deep-rooted European conviction that transnational institutions and economic interdependence have helped establish and sustain peace across the continent for the past six decades.