As far as the euro is concerned, the story again goes back to the early 1970s and the collapse of Bretton Woods. Between 1945 and 1971, the Europeans did not have to worry about intra-European currency issues. The dollar tied to the gold reserve in Fort Knox was the anchor of the global system. Once Nixon abandoned the gold peg in August 1971, Europe faced a problem. Fluctuating exchange rates would disrupt the tightly integrated trading networks that had brought Europe together.
