numerous. Third, the European theory led to the introduction of the euro, probably the most successful new currency in history. The move from national currencies backed by governments with quite different approaches to fiscal policy to a single currency was not easy; it required significant intellectual, political and economic changes. Success came only after two failed preliminary efforts and a multi-year struggle with the financial markets almost a decade after the currency was actually introduced. Ultimately, though, national governments and the European Central Bank were willing to adopt policies which they had once strongly rejected. Indeed, for all the drama it is clear in retrospect that progress was fairly steady from the time of the Werner Commission's first suggestion of monetary union in 1979 to the final resolution of the euro crisis in 2015 [note: emendation may be needed on the date]. Finally, the success of the euro demonstrated one of the underlying tenets of the European theory, the dominance of political will over narrow economic logic. Economists had good reasons to believe that a single currency issued by many sovereign governments would always be unstable, but they assumed governments would always be self-interested. In fact, the euro zone governments were willing to make sacrifices for the sake of the weaker among them, and to accept the abdication of some fiscal sovereignty for the sake of the greater social good. The Nobel Committee realises that the EU is quite different from previous prize winners, all of whom have analysed some