Spain was up 4.8 points, Italy up 3.2 points and even Luxembourg, hardly known for being at risk of deprivation, up three points at 18.5pc. The eurozone is not only a financial disaster , it is fast becoming a social disaster as well , wrote Matthew Lynn in The Telegraph , adding that buried under discussions of growth rates , bail - outs and banking reform is the fact that the " eurozone is turning into a poverty machine " . With the economy stagnating , rates of poverty in Europe have rocketed with the worst results found in areas covered by the single currency . Lynn said there could not " be a more shocking indictment of the euro ’s failure , or a more potent reminder that living standards will only improve once the euro is either radically reformed or taken apart . "
The eurozone is not only a financial disaster , it is fast becoming a social disaster as well , wrote Matthew Lynn in The Telegraph , adding that buried under discussions of growth rates , bail - outs and banking reform is the fact that the " eurozone is turning into a poverty machine " . With the economy stagnating , rates of poverty in Europe have rocketed with the worst results found in areas covered by the single currency . Lynn said there could not " be a more shocking indictment of the euro ’s failure , or a more potent reminder that living standards will only improve once the euro is either radically reformed or taken apart . "