Few European Union politicians will have raised a New Year glass in expectation of a brighter future. Many fear that 2015 could be the year in which both the euro and the European Union itself begin to unravel.
Once again the troubles will begin early in Greece, a country carelessly admitted to the euro before its finances were properly in shape, and which has twice had to be bailed out and bullied into efforts to get its economy onto a sound footing.
Once again the Greek economy is at the heart of a euro crisis. The failure of the Greek government led by Antonis Samaras to win a majority vote for its favored presidential candidate means that Greece faces a snap general election on January 25, news that saw the Greek stock market fall 5% in one day.
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On January 1, 2015, EU leaders were able to celebrate one measure of progress: Lithuania became the last of the three Baltic states which entered the Union in 2004 to ditch its old currency, the litas, and to become a fully-fledged member of the euro club.
It may be the last thing those EU leaders have to celebrate for quite some while.
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