It is easy to forget that discussing the eurozone without adding the now inevitable 'crisis' suffix was ever a reasonable possibility. It is easy too, to overlook the fact that back in the buoyant founding years of the economic and monetary union, membership was a coveted prize for bright-eyed, new EU members, and one for which policy-makers would gladly forsake their native currency as quickly as possible.
But back then, the euro was not invoked as a phantasm to spook those who might rush into an ill-conceived and poorly integrated monetary union. Nor was its financial situation and uncertain future a constant source of concern for politicians, bankers and economists across the globe. Instead, a spot in the largest currency union ever attempted lent participants a certain degree of credibility as part of a stable, continent-wide monetary regime.