[FR] How can the euro be saved?

It will soon be a year since the euro crisis began. Last year, the newly formed Greek government announced that the public deficit would not reach 3.7%, but rather 13.7%. At around the same time, the European Central Bank (ECB) announced that, as part of its crisis exit strategy, it would no longer accept a BBB+ rating as collateral for liquidity transfers to banks. Shortly afterwards, Standard & Poor’s downgraded Greek government bonds to BBB+. Banks and other financial institutions began to sell off Greek government bonds on a massive scale. Since then, the financial markets have hardly had a day of peace.