'Euro could collapse,' says Trump's choice for ambassador to EU

Donald Trump's choice for US ambassador to the EU has claimed the euro could collapse within 18 months.

Speaking to the BBC, Professor Ted Malloch said he would "short" the bloc's single currency, placing a bet that the value would fall in the future.

He said: "I think it is a currency that is not only in demise, but has a real problem and could in fact collapse in the coming year, year and a half."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Predictions of the euro's demise have been around for a while, reaching a peak when Greece was in the throes of its debt crisis last year and on the brink of losing its EU bailout.

Polls often claim to show the currency is unpopular in some of its 18 member states - including a survey taken in Greece this month.

Malloch also warned the EU not to try to stop the UK opening negotiations with the US before it has officially left the bloc - and hinted that a "mutually beneficial" free trade deal between the two countries could be agreed in as little as 90 days.

"The fact is that when your wife is having an affair with someone else, you tell her to stop it, but oftentimes that doesn't stop the relationship," he said.

Many trade experts say the 90-day proposition is unrealistic, as there will need to be detailed negotiations on controversial areas such as food imports, financial services and pharmaceuticals.

Health and safety regulations, the recognition of professional qualifications and other non-tariff barriers to the deal would have to be overcome and there would also be "a need for some form of immigration agreement", says the BBC.