The euro zone should seek to have a reserve currency rent

The United States has long benefited from the rent linked to the dollar's reserve currency status: it can finance investments in the United States through growing external debt at a low interest rate, made possible by the dollar’s international role. The euro zone does not have a rent linked to its reserve currency status. It has an external surplus, is moving towards net external assets, and international demand for the euro is weak. How could the euro zone benefit from a reserve currency rent, and therefore borrow at a low interest rate to finance additional investment? It is not a currency that is a reserve currency, it is the debt issued in that currency that is a reserve asset; this debt must be large, liquid and safe (Treasuries in the case of the United States). For the euro zone to benefit from a reserve currency rent, it is therefore necessary to develop a single, large, liquid and safe euro debt, which will increase international demand for debt in euros compared with the current situation where there are multiple different sovereign issuers in euros. The decision to increase the EU's debt taken in July 2020 is a first step in this direction.