One of the advantages of the European single currency was that it at least partially ensured mutual fiscal oversight!
While the oversight was loosely encouraged and never really enforced, other G7 countries (the US, Canada, the UK and Japan) never had any sense of fiscal discipline!

Now, the fiscal turmoil in the UK should give a wake-up call to all beforementioned governments.
Fiscal austerity for these Anglo-Saxon countries is almost inevitably coming.