It looks more like a mutual defence pact: an attack on one euro-zone member is now an attack on all.
But as troubled euro-zone member Cyprus reopened its banks Thursday, there was little sense of panic, which calmed investor nerves and set the stage for the index's push into record territory.
The proposal was to allow treaty changes so that euro-zone member countries, and any other government that chose to follow the same rules, would more tightly coordinate their budgets and government debts and be subject to near-automatic discipline if they didn't comply.
The goal of the project will be to contribute to the environmental and socio-economic sustainability of the coastal zone of member countries.
While the European Union permits the free movement of goods and services throughout the 27-member zone, moving goods around the Middle East is nothing like as simple, with import and export duties to be paid and extensive bureaucracy.
Still, the report was the ECB's first attempt to provide comparable wealth statistics across the 17-member euro zone.
The U.K. isn't a member of the 17-member euro zone and has been an attractive alternative for investors whenever worries about the currency bloc's finances flare up.
On Wednesday, the European Central Bank will present a so-called Convergence Report on Latvia, and the nation is expected to be given the all-clear to join the 17-member euro zone, paving the way for a final decision in July.
It was the first time euro-zone leaders accepted that a member could default and leave the euro. (And once the unthinkable is possible, why stop at Greece?) It was also the first time leaders intruded so deliberately into the internal politics of other countries.
The newest and poorest member of the euro zone will have its smallest public-debt ratio: 8% of GDP.
France is considered a rock solid, core member of the euro zone, and its troubles are of great concern.
On Friday, Germany, the largest and most influential member of the euro zone, poured a degree of cold water on the hopes for more aggressive action by the ECB.
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Greece is farther down this road than any other member of the euro zone even though other countries such as Portugal and Ireland have already seen their governments toppled and Spain is about to follow suit.
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Books will be published and doctorates awarded on research into how a country that managed to become a member of the euro zone, that staged a very successful Olympic Games in 2004, which has a talented, well-educated and industrious population, should fall so low, so fast.
Meanwhile, the United Kingdom, which is a major member of the European Union, but not a member of the euro-zone, announced this week that its economy contracted again in the first quarter, its second straight quarter of negative GDP, putting it officially in a recession.
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Seventeen of the EU-27 member-states are part of the euro zone.
Even the United Kingdom, which is a member of the European Union, but not the euro-zone, saw its economy still in recessionary contraction.
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Meanwhile, the United Kingdom (U.K.), a member of the European Union but not of the euro-zone, has already reported that its economy has been negative for two straight quarters, officially in a recession.
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Adding to the gloomy mood, European Central Bank governing council member Ewald Nowotny said he didn't see the euro-zone economy improving significantly in the near future.
Then on Wednesday, Switzerland, not a member of the EU but part of its passport-free travel zone, invoked a special safeguard clause that allows it to cap the number of workers from 28 European countries.
Imagine the possibilities of using the lower right side compartment as a kid zone, as a prep zone for a special meal, as a centralized storage area for a family member with dietary restrictions, or to replace a separate beverage refrigerator.
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Even if it remains a member, its unwillingness to help shape the redesign of the euro zone and fully engage on new financial regulations would leave London as a taker rather than a maker of the new rules of the European game.
Many are looking to the 187-member International Monetary Fund to step in as the rescue vehicle in the euro zone.
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Rather than attacking Ms. Merkel, those outside the euro zone who want to play a constructive role should aim their fire at the political elites in member states that continue to block reform.
Last week, while in Riga, Burkhard Balz, a German member of the European Parliament, said he expects Latvia to be admitted to the euro zone, but sees a low level of support among Latvians for the move.
Mr. Crucey worked until 2010 as a senior vice president for the Upper Manhattan Empowerment Zone, a taxpayer-funded organization set up to revitalize distressed communities, and was an associate member of the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, prosecutors said.
EU's enlargement to include ten new member countries, which took place last May, was sold as a golden opportunity to expand a European zone of peace, prosperity and co-operation into the former Soviet block.
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