At the euro's launch in 1999, Milton Friedman famously observed that the euro would not survive its first major economic recession. At this event, experts discussed whether the brewing Greek economic crisis in the aftermath of the worst postwar global economic recession will prove Friedman right. They also addressed the implications of the economic difficulties in Spain, Ireland, and Portugal for the survival of the eurozone in its present form.

The panel featured Jacob F. Kirkegaard, research fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics; Desmond Lachman, resident fellow at AEI; Georges Pineau, permanent representative of the European Central Bank in Washington, D.C.; and Carmen M. Reinhart, professor of economics and director of the Center for International Economics at the University of Maryland. AEI resident scholar Philip I. Levy moderated.