The Observer: Euro still shining in the east

The Observer: Italy is up to its neck in debt; Spain is on the brink of a housing market crash; and Germany’s thrifty consumers are still stuffing money under the mattress. Five years after the arrival of euro notes and coins, there is little sign of the promised economic convergence - on the contrary, there are growing fears that the eurozone is straining at the seams.

Yet in new Europe, countries are queuing up to join. On 1 January, Slovenia, the tiny former Yugoslavian state just across the Alps from Italy, will become the 13th member. Cyprus and Malta, both former British colonies, plan to follow a year later. While the accession countries are scrambling to get their economies in order and qualify to join, some politicians in Italy are beginning to…