Abstract

Several manifestos advocating a break-up of the eurozone and a return to a multilateral cooperation between national currencies have been published over the past years. These manifestos undertake a "leftist" critique of the common currency based on the idea that the European welfare state has made a compromise possible between liberal democracy and capitalist economy, which is paramount for political liberty. Such a compromise would rest on the cultural and institutional diversity of European "capitalisms". The common currency poses a decisive threat to such a diversity. Restoring national monetary autonomy would be therefore key to the maintenance of political liberty in Member States. Numerous international scholars gather behind such a "leftist" sovereignism, whose political meaning has also been increasing in recent years. The article critically discusses its main tenets while highlighting the conditions for a fair economic and monetary integration. The article, on the other hand, expands on the obstacles on the way to implementing principles of political equality within the Union, as the sovereignist critique warns.