Controversial and Novel features of the Eurozone Crisis as a Balance of Payment Crisis

In this paper I examine some explanations that have been given for the nature of the balance of payments (BoP) disequilibrium of the Eurozone (EZ) members in relation also to the presumed German mercantilism (sections 2, 3, 4). I then discuss two interpretations of the causes of the rise in the sovereign spread of periphery countries (section 5) that pay insufficient attention to the EZ BoP crisis. Finally, I shall focus on the novel and controversial features of the EZ BoP crisis compared to previous experiences and particularly on the role of the European Central Bank in refinancing banks in peripheral countries (sections 6 and 7).