Eurozone’s Economic Future Uncertain Amid Greek Crisis, Euro Fall

The euro has fallen by 24 percent against the dollar over the past year and by 12.8 percent in 2015 alone. Analysts and investors say that ECB's stimulus program is forcing cash out of the Eurozone.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The future of the EU economy remains uncertain amid fluctuations in the euro exchange rate and the crisis in Greece, financial experts told Sputnik, making contradictory predictions regarding the economic situation in the Eurozone.

"…under the conditions of low economic growth, associated with deflation in the Eurozone, the euro's fall could have a positive effect on the entire territory of the EU," Gérard Cornilleau, an expert at the Paris Research Center For Economics (OFCE), told Sputnik France on Tuesday.

According to Cornilleau, the euro's depreciation would boost export outside the Eurozone.

"Each EU country will benefit directly from the impact of devaluation on trade with the rest of the world and indirectly from the fact that the situation in other EU countries will improve," Cornilleau said.

There are no reasons to worry over fluctuations in the euro exchange rate as they are part of a mechanism that will bring the EU economy out of stagnation, expert said.

"But if the crisis in Greece will lead to the country's exit from the Eurozone, most likely, a completely different scenario will take place," Cornilleau warned.

Bertrand Chokrane, an expert on financial markets and Director of the Bertrand Chokrane Consulting company warned in an interview with Sputnik France that Greece's exit from the Eurozone would lead to the euro exchange rate dropping to record lows.

According to Chokrane, the Greek crisis is making the Eurozone "more fragile" and its future raises concerns.

According to the expert, for the French economy, the negative effects of euro depreciation outweigh the positive ones, because France exports predominantly to the Eurozone countries.

"Only a small fraction of [French] enterprises have trade ties outside of Europe, and they will undoubtedly benefit from the fall of the euro," Chokrane said.

With regard to other EU countries, the expert noted that their profits would decline as a result of rising prices for imported products.

"For countries capable of importing goods from outside the Eurozone, such as Germany, this will lead to a growing economic inequality with other Eurozone countries," Chokrane told Sputnik.

The value of the euro against the dollar fell more than 1 percent on March 11. The fall, which was the lowest in the last 12 years, was reportedly triggered by the Greek economic crisis and the European Central Bank's (ECB) quantitative easing program.