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Value for Money? Euro Currency Losing its Appeal Amid Economic Woes

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It seems the recent economic problems in Europe have led to a growing concern about the sustainability of the euro, following a survey of non-euro using states, which showed a vast disparity in opinions towards the single currency.

The survey, which questioned citizens in seven EU member states that have yet to join the euro, revealed growing concern and unease among countries contemplating whether to change over to the currency.

Euro Symbol - Sputnik International
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Of the seven countries, a majority of respondents in Romania (68 percent) and Hungary (60 percent) were in favor of introducing the common currency.

However, support for joining the euro was less convincing in Croatia and Bulgaria, where just over half the people believed changing over to the euro would be a good thing for their respective economies.

Meanwhile, as a sign the euro may be losing its appeal, the majority of respondents in the Czech Republic (70 percent), Sweden (66 percent) and Poland (53 percent) were against introducing the currency in their country.

Overall, less than half the people were in favour of implementing the euro, with the currency's approval rating dropping from previous years.

This comes as more than half of the respondents said they thought the introduction of the euro would have a negative impact on their respective economies.

Euro at 'Root of the Trouble'

The drop in support for the euro has come at a time of economic hardship for many EU nations, who have struggled to maintain growth.

Eurozone growth figures since the 2008 financial crisis have shown that the combined economies of the single-currency countries actually retracted by 2.2 percent over the past 6 years, which analysts say is an indictment of the euro concept.

This is particularly concerning when compared to the figures of other non-euro countries such as the UK and Switzerland who experienced growth over the same period.

Leading British economist Roger Bootle said the euro was at the "root" of many of Europe's economic woes, describing the current situation in many countries as a "dog's breakfast."

"There is clearly something catastrophically wrong in the would-be state of Europe."

Meanwhile, others believe that the single currency concept is in fact hindering the recovering of many nations trying to pay off bailout debts.

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Jennifer McKeown, Senior European economist from research company Capital Economics, told Sputnik that she believes countries such as Greece would be better off outside the euro.

"For the likes of Greece, it's true that the euro has been holding back their economy. Without the euro, the Greek currency would have presumably dropped very sharply and exports could have started picking up quite some time ago."

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