Current efforts to reform the eurozone are set to fall dramatically short of what is required to secure the future of the single currency. Poor economic growth prospects, rather than fiscal ill-discipline, lie at the heart of the currency union's problems.

The euro crisis will be with us for many years. The underlying causes, such as southern Europe's lack of competitiveness, cannot be remedied overnight; Greece, Italy, Portugal and Spain face years of low growth, severe curbs on public spending and perhaps social unrest.

In the 1970's, a group of young professionals in Washington formed a baby-sitting co-operative. The way it worked was simple. Couples who wanted an evening out could call on other parents to look after their children.