The continued existence of the Eurozone is called into question, as bond yields demanded in Italy and Greece reach new highs and governments are unable to budget for future spending. Austerity is often proposed as a way to enable these struggling governments to repay their debts in the future, but many question whether it can actually lead to growth. The breakup of the Eurozone, while very possible, threatens to spread financial instability to other European countries and even the United States. Originally designed to guarantee financial stability, the common monetary area appears to be holding back policymakers, both fiscally and monetaryally, in times of economic depression, when they could benefit most from expansionary policies. A major problem is that the European Central Bank dictates a unified monetary policy to states facing different economic scenarios. How could the European Central Bank effectively respond to the needs of Greece and Italy by offering lower interest rates without fueling inflation in Germany and possibly France? This article argues that Europe may not be suited to a common currency and that the central bank, in its current form, faces an insurmountable task in trying to meet the needs and desires of every policy maker and of each member country of the euro zone. the question is whether a common currency can stimulate economic growth. Mundell was the original author of the subject, wondering how large an area would be optimal and what criteria would be most useful in determining such an area. He argued that labor and capital should be mobile between states for their use of a common currency to be beneficial (663). It is important to note that the workforce in the Eurozone is clearly not perfectly mobile due to language barriers,...... middle of article......: 109-15 . Web.02 December 2011.Lapavitsas, Costas, Annina Kaltenbrunner, Duncan Lindo, J. Mitchell, Juan Pablo Painceira, Eugenia Pires, Jeff Powell, Alexis Stenfors and Nuno Teles. “Eurozone crisis: begging yourself and your neighbor. » Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies 12.4 (2010): 321-73. Internet. December 1, 2011. .Massmann, Michael and James Mitchell. “Reconsidering the Evidence: Are Eurozone Business Cycles Converging?” » (2003). Internet. December 5, 2011. .Mundell, Robert A. “A Theory of Optimal Currency Areas.” The American Economic Review 51.4 (1961): 657-65. JSTOR. Internet. November 28, 2011. Obstfeld, Maurice. "UEM: ready or not? » (1998). National Bureau of Economic Research. Internet. December 1. 2011. .