The future of Europe will be decided by tomatoes

Ioannina, Greece

Like a penitent sinner, or an addict entering recovery, the European Union has developed a fondness for confessing it has lost the public’s confidence. Among EU leaders and top Eurocrats, there is much talk of ‘reconnecting with citizens’. To know why you should be sceptical, go to the ancient bazaars of Ioannina and ask shoppers what they think of the euro single currency. In common with consumers across the rest of Greece, indeed across much of Europe, Ioannina residents accuse the single currency of triggering runaway inflation since it was introduced four years ago.

EU leaders worry about excessive public deficits in countries that adopted the euro, and a lack of convergence in national growth rates. In Ioannina shoppers worry about soaring prices for parsley and tomatoes. Local politicians worry that Greek families are running up huge personal debts, as the low interest rates of the euro-zone encourage banks to issue credit cards to consumers who have only ever known a cash economy.