One euro crisis after another gives the impression that Europe does not work, if not falling apart. Many eurosceptics, even local ones, are slowly coming back out of the cracks, triumphantly beating their chests at the eurozone’s woes. As you might expect, I disagree with them.

Let me explain why.

For starters, all political communities face periodic crises, problems and challenges. Europe is no different. Just have a look at our own small polity of less than half a million and you will see how politics never seems to rest, not even in the hot summer months. Likewise, Europe has evolved through crises. And it has a track record of overcoming them.

During the currency turmoil of the 1970s there were many who proclaimed that Europe’s end was in sight. But two European leaders of exceptional quality, the then French President Valery Giscard D’Estaing and German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt, defied the odds and created the European Monetary System, which provided an oasis of tranquillity in a turbulent sea of financial turmoil.

The situation today is not the same but not much better either.

First Greece, then Portugal, Spain and, now, Italy all came under severe pressure because of the state of their public finances. For very many years, these countries had problems with their financial and economic fundamentals. Greece and Italy, for instance, had very huge public debts. Good sense dictated that they should trim them down before they became unsustainable. Indeed, this discipline was a precondition to joining the euro. If anything, the problem was not in having these conditions but in not enforcing them thoroughly.

The countries in trouble should have done more to avoid reaching their current predicament. When Lehman Brothers went under, the fragile financial markets snapped and the most vulnerable economies began to struggle. And the rest is history.

This led to a lot of soul searching about the sustainability of the euro.

Now if you are not concerned about the fate of Europe, letting the euro go to the dogs may come easy. But is it in our interest to do so?

No. The euro is the currency of 17 countries, which are part of one single market along with another 10 countries. The 17 have a population of over 330 million and a combined gross domestic product of a little less than €10 trillion. Internal trade in goods between EU countries themselves is twice the amount of trade they have with the outside world. And as much as 60 per cent of their trade in services takes place internally between themselves.

The euro has shown that it lubricates internal trade in goods and services, enhances investment and increases job creation.

In 2006, two Swedish economists, Harry Flam and Håkan Nordström, found that had Sweden joined the euro its foreign trade would have increased by 13 per cent. On the other end, the Swedish eurosceptics produced a rival study showing that trade would have “only” grown by four per cent. So, even in the worst case scenario, a four per cent increase in trade would still have translated into thousands of new jobs and increased wealth.

Now let the euro die and the immediate result would be a catastrophe for internal trade within the EU as a result of the reintroduction of national currencies. This would lead to less trade and, consequently, to less investment, more bankruptcies, longer unemployment queues and of course, poorer people.

And Malta?

Malta has benefitted hugely from the internal market since it joined the EU in 2004. The euro makes our membership of the internal market even more smooth.

And since we have not been sucked into the cauldron of the financial and economic turmoil, we must ensure that we continue to rein in our public spending. The government should remain committed to achieving a balanced budget and it should resist the short-sighted taunts from the everything-for-everyone opposition to spend money it does not have.

This policy will ensure that Malta’s economic resilience is strengthened and help us weather future shocks with relatively less pain. Our economy and welfare are so intricately intertwined with those of the EU and the eurozone that we do not have the luxury to flirt with the idea of abandoning our support of the euro and the eurozone.

In brief, for us, the euro is a tool that is well worth saving. In our own interest.

That still leaves the profligate countries that did not honour their commitments to keep their financial house in order as good members of the eurozone. Like it or not, the answer for them is to make the necessary harsh sacrifices to get their house in order.

But we must also help them help themselves. This calls for solidarity with them in these difficult times. And, yes, solidarity comes at a price. But it is also in our interest to help them because we would be supporting our own currency.

As it happens, more solidarity will also mean more Europe, not less. Much to the chagrin of the sceptics. For necessity is trail-blazing the way for Europe.

This should not surprise us.

History has shown that European unity has progressed more in times of crises. Precisely because European unity could provide an answer that individual countries on their own could not.

That is the long and short of it.

simon.busuttil@europarl.europa.eu

Dr Busuttil is a Nationalist member of the European Parliament.