The euro area is emerging from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, with its economy experiencing a moderate recovery with some tailwinds. The reasons for the crisis were manifold, originating in the U.S. subprime mortgage market, and culminating in a sovereign debt shock of Europe’s own making. The good news is that the European Union project, now more than 60 years old, tends to come out of a crisis stronger than before. In this case, it is no different. Policy makers have taken important steps to tackle many of the shortcomings that the crisis brought to light. First and foremost, countries did their homework, strengthening budgetary discipline, improving competitiveness and implementing structural reform. At the European level, institutional gaps in the initial design of monetary union were closed with the creation of the ESM, and the beginnings of banking union. Other steps are better and broader economic surveillance, and the innovative crisis measures taken by the European Central Bank. Additional measures to strengthen the institutional set-up and the resilience of the euro area are under consideration. Finally, measures to strengthen the growth potential are urgent.