The supranational character of the euro as a currency without a state has gone from being one of its most attractive characteristics to the currency's Achilles' heel. For both economic and political reasons, the euro zone has become fragile and susceptible to multiple risks, the materialization of any one of which could trigger a chain of events possibly leading to sovereign default or exit from the euro. Troublingly, there is little indication that the official funding mechanisms established to avert sovereign default by the European Union and the International Monetary Fund will allow a return to sustainable growth within a preserved euro zone