An overwhelming majority of citizens in the big eurozone countries believe the euro has damaged their national economies, highlighting the popular scepticism that still surrounds Europe’s eight-year-old monetary union.
More than two-thirds of the French, Italians and Spanish – and more than half of Germans – believe the single currency has had a “negative impact”, according to an FT-Harris poll. In France, just 5 per cent said the euro has had a positive effect on the French economy.
The results will disturb the European Central Bank, which has faced stiff criticism in recent weeks from both Ségolène Royal and Nicolas Sarkozy, the main candidates in April’s French presidential elections, who accuse the central bank of hampering growth. The ECB regards its public credibility, and that of the euro, as essential to its battle against inflation, which is sees as the prerequisite for growth.
The survey also shows that most adults in the largest European countries think migration has reduced wages and only a quarter have a positive view of the entry into the European Union this year of Bulgaria and Romania.
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