In the EU, in parallel with the euro, the creation of the currencies of the Euroregions is permitted

[Simeon The Great]

In the Roman Empire, a number of cities - including those in my native Bulgaria, had their own mint. Before the Liberation from Turkish domination, Bulgarian cities such as Panagyurishte also minted their own coins. Since, due to the progress of technology, the distances have shortened significantly, is it possible to create their own currencies in parallel with the Euro in the regions of the member states of the European Union, and if they are located in more than one country, this will strengthen European integration, if not - what changes will be needed in the EU to implement this idea, if so - how will this affect the European idea and the economic development of the EU, how many regional currencies can be created and what can any of them be called? And what personalities could be superimposed on them?

 

[The Tai-Pan]

In the Roman Empire, a number of cities - including those in my native Bulgaria, had their own mint. Before the Liberation from Turkish domination, Bulgarian cities such as Panagyurishte also minted their own coins. Since, due to the progress of technology, the distances have shortened significantly, is it possible to create their own currencies in parallel with the Euro in the regions of the member states of the European Union, and if they are located in more than one country, this will strengthen European integration, if not - what changes will be needed in the EU to implement this idea, if so - how will this affect the European idea and the economic development of the EU, how many regional currencies can be created and what can any of them be called? And what personalities could be superimposed on them?

I am curious, what is the niche for a currency bigger then one nation but smaller then an EU wide currency? Why would we need/want (say) a Balkan currency or a Benelux currency?

 

[Simeon The Great]

I am curious, what is the niche for a currency bigger then one nation but smaller then an EU wide currency? Why would we need/want (say) a Balkan currency or a Benelux currency?

If this project was "useless", would these currencies exist? (link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_currency)

 

[Godot]

On a practical level this would really be more trouble than it's worth. I don't think it's viable.

 

[Simeon The Great]

On a practical level this would really be more trouble than it's worth. I don't think it's viable.

I'm curious what the problems would be? However, I did not say that regional currencies must be issued by local governments - that is, they could be private in whole or in part, which would introduce competition in the money supply, which is the basis of any more developed economy. However, Ludwig von Mises wanted the creation of private money, and the Hong Kong dollar, one of the strongest and most sought-after currencies in the world, is just such a currency.

 

[The Tai-Pan]

If this project was "useless", would these currencies exist? (link:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_currency)

I didn't u se the word 'useless', why are you quoting that?

I am merely asking what role such a regional currency might have. Are you imaging one inside nations? In the link you provided the vast majority are local currencies inside a nation, not between them.

 

[Godot]

I'm curious what the problems would be? However, I did not say that regional currencies must be issued by local governments - that is, they could be private in whole or in part, which would introduce competition in the money supply, which is the basis of any more developed economy. However, Ludwig von Mises wanted the creation of private money, and the Hong Kong dollar, one of the strongest and most sought-after currencies in the world, is just such a currency.

The problems are manifold -

* The period in which the Euro was introduced was also during the period of rapid EU expansion. The two were interlinked, with the strength of the Euro being a draw for new members, and the rapid expansion of the common market a source of strength for the currency. The incentives were for a single currency.
* The difficulties of the ERM and ERM II systems would be heightened by the proliferation of smaller systems. Even more exchange bands to track.
* The economics of smaller over larger currencies don't make sense. Half the point is to take advantage of economies of scale. What's the point of a big common market if you constantly need to convert between regional currencies?
* EU regions aren't like, super distinct. A Benelux currency sounds cool but the Netherlands does a ton of trading with Germany. So would Benelux be part of a German currency area? A Visegrad currency sounds neat till you remember that Poland trades a ton with Germany as well, and Poland is also the largest Visegrad economy. So..... does Poland also join? This is to say the economics naturally push you towards harmonization with the strongest economy/currency, which is to say the Deutsche Mark. Which is what the Euro literally was, the Mark with a fresh coat of continental paint

 

[Simeon The Great]

I am merely asking what role such a regional currency might have. Are you imaging one inside nations? In the link you provided the vast majority are local currencies inside a nation, not between them.

It may play a role in payments for tourist trips - for example, by Bulgarian tourists in Greece, who are the third largest foreign group. And also to ease the economic crisis that started 15 years ago in Greece and the other Mediterranean countries of the Eurozone.

 

[Juumanistra]

I am curious, what is the niche for a currency bigger then one nation but smaller then an EU wide currency? Why would we need/want (say) a Balkan currency or a Benelux currency?

The niche would be for nations with similar economic profiles and fiscal outlooks. One of the Euro's biggest issues has been imposing a uniform monetary policy and its negative externalities. Italy is the poster-child, as it's suffered massively in terms of competitiveness because the Euro is overvalued for Italian economic purposes. The traditional response with the lira would have been a devaluation, but that's not possible with the Euro. It's why you've seen intermittent proposals for a "northern Euro" and "southern Euro" to try to remedy some of these concerns, as well as better align fiscal policy too.

 

[Simeon The Great]

The problems are manifold -

* The period in which the Euro was introduced was also during the period of rapid EU expansion. The two were interlinked, with the strength of the Euro being a draw for new members, and the rapid expansion of the common market a source of strength for the currency. The incentives were for a single currency.
* The difficulties of the ERM and ERM II systems would be heightened by the proliferation of smaller systems. Even more exchange bands to track.
* The economics of smaller over larger currencies don't make sense. Half the point is to take advantage of economies of scale. What's the point of a big common market if you constantly need to convert between regional currencies?
* EU regions aren't like, super distinct. A Benelux currency sounds cool but the Netherlands does a ton of trading with Germany. So would Benelux be part of a German currency area? A Visegrad currency sounds neat till you remember that Poland trades a ton with Germany as well, and Poland is also the largest Visegrad economy. So..... does Poland also join? This is to say the economics naturally push you towards harmonization with the strongest economy/currency, which is to say the Deutsche Mark. Which is what the Euro literally was, the Mark with a fresh coat of continental paint

I will answer all these objections:
1. Entry into the EU not only does not mean immediate entry into the Eurozone, but also many of the countries that joined the EU after the creation of the Eurozone still retain their national currencies, among which the most significant are Poland and Romania.
2. Regional currencies can be created without all the countries using them being members of the Eurozone. Also if they are at least fully or partially private it will make the process less bureaucratic.
3. If economies of scale were a sufficient argument against the idea I set forth, local currencies of individual cities would not have been created to this day.
4. Local currencies will play a supporting role. And given the economic ties you mentioned, the local currency of Benelux and the Rhineland might be the same, as well as Western Poland and the German territories east of the Elbe. And this is indeed an idea that will be difficult to impose, given the relationship of Germany's neighbors to it - especially Poland, as Poles and Germans have hated each other since the Middle Ages, and from today's western Polish lands the Germans were driven out or exterminated after the Second World War. But I have not mentioned a deadline for this to be done.

 

[Simeon The Great]

The niche would be for nations with similar economic profiles and fiscal outlooks.

The gap between the EU's poorest and richest regions in terms of GDP per capita at purchasing power parity is 8.15 times, while between India's poorest and richest states at the same indicator it is just under 10 times. but India has a single currency. Also, these 2 most different EU regions are not adjacent. In the European Union, the biggest difference in GDP per capita between neighbors is between Luxembourg and France - 2,427 times. So the idea would work.

 

[Vladyslav]

In the Roman Empire, a number of cities - including those in my native Bulgaria, had their own mint. Before the Liberation from Turkish domination, Bulgarian cities such as Panagyurishte also minted their own coins. Since, due to the progress of technology, the distances have shortened significantly, is it possible to create their own currencies in parallel with the Euro in the regions of the member states of the European Union

Historically, such regional money existed because the central government couldn't mint money from one center and local markets were fairly isolated from each other. Due to the growth of transport connectivity, we have come to the one currency per country standard. An analogue of regional currencies with our level of technology will be the Martian and Lunar colonies money, initially pegged with the mother countries' currencies.

And also to ease the economic crisis that started 15 years ago in Greece and the other Mediterranean countries of the Eurozone.

If we think that the too strong European currency disadvantages outweigh the euro benefits for Greece or Italy, then it is easier to leave the drachma and the lira, which can be devalued.

of private money, and the Hong Kong dollar, one of the strongest and most sought-after currencies in the world, is just such a currency.

The Hong Kong dollar is pegged to the American dollar using the currency board and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, which controls the Hong Kong dollar emission, is a government agency.

Also if they are at least fully or partially private it will make the process less bureaucratic.

For anyone to trust a private currency in the EU, it must be 100% backed by the euro. Why would anyone need a cheap knockoff euro when they can use the original?

. Entry into the EU not only does not mean immediate entry into the Eurozone, but also many of the countries that joined the EU after the creation of the Eurozone still retain their national currencies, among which the most significant are Poland and Romania.

Because the new money introduction is a complex process and countries that aren't ready or fear problems from the euro introduction maintain the status quo in the form of their national currencies. The rise of regional currencies is usually associated with monetary circulation crises such as the Great Depression and the cash crisis in the FSU in the early 1990s. There is no such crises in Europe at the beginning of the 21st century IOTL.

The gap between the EU's poorest and richest regions in terms of GDP per capita at purchasing power parity is 8.15 times, while between India's poorest and richest states at the same indicator it is just under 10 times. but India has a single currency.

India has federal taxes and a common fiscal policy, while the euro has a pan-European ideology and belief in economies of scale. Which of these does Greek-Bulgarian cut paper have?

 

[Simeon The Great]

The Hong Kong dollar is pegged to the American dollar using the currency board and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, which controls the Hong Kong dollar emission, is a government agency.





Because the new money introduction is a complex process and countries that aren't ready or fear problems from the euro introduction maintain the status quo in the form of their national currencies. The rise of regional currencies is usually associated with monetary circulation crises such as the Great Depression and the cash crisis in the FSU in the early 1990s. There is no such crises in Europe at the beginning of the 21st century IOTL.

Private banks are involved in making the Hong Kong dollar. Poland's GDP per capita surpasses Portugal - the poorest Western European country - as well as Estonia. These two use the Euro, while the Poles use the zloty for now, and you entered the EU together with the Estonians.

 

[Vladyslav]

Private banks are involved in making the Hong Kong dollar.

And? Strictly speaking, everywhere the M2 money supply majority is created by private banks, it doesn't matter whether we are talking about dollars, hryvnias or rupees. The bottom line is that the Hong Kong dollar emission is controlled by the government institution.

and you entered the EU together with the Estonians

If only that were the case. I'm not a Pole, I'm Ukrainian

Poland's GDP per capita surpasses Portugal - the poorest Western European country - as well as Estonia. These two use the Euro, while the Poles use the zloty for now

Portugal was the ERM part and participated in the euro creation from the very beginning, and the Estonian kroon has been pegged to the mark since 1992. I don't understand how Poland keeping its money is an argument for regional currencies instead of the euro or national ones.

 

[Simeon The Great]

If only that were the case. I'm not a Pole, I'm Ukrainian

Excuse me! I got confused!

 

[Evil Crusader]

Considering the whole point of the Euro was to bring together even more the constituent parts of the European Market, allowing for local currencies to co-exist would be an enormous setback and an admission of failure. This major setback would definitely create tensions and problems, most relevantly severely reducing the trust in this new Euro coin and heavily reducing its international role (for a while, the Euro seemed poised to displace the Dollar as the reserve currency).
There always will be sectors and areas of the EU that suffer, but separate money are not the answer, not unless one also is willing to throw EU unity into disarray.