The “distance” between the core and peripheral euro-zone countries is not shrinking: if it were not for monetary policy and the new solidarity policies, the risk of a break-up of the euro would still be as high
We use the term “distance” between the core and peripheral euro-zone countries to identify the gap between these two groups of countries in terms of: Productivity ; The skills and employability of the population and the efficiency of the education system; The investment, modernisation and innovation effort; Market shares and cost and non-cost competitiveness; Manufacturing production capacity ; And, as a result, the public debt. The risk of a break-up of the euro zone is therefore still as high. However, it is currently being corrected by the new ECB policy and by the appearance of solidarity policies (ESM, Juncker plan, recovery plan, etc.) .