Blaming the euro masks the real reason that southern economies went south: The reasons are actually outside the EU. The un-competitiveness of the south was subsidized by the EU for decades, and has turned greece , spain and portugal to dependent nations with little innovation. People don't buy the idea that making their labor cheaper will bring prosperity. Instead, they opt to leave their countries in search of better pay, mainly because they can, and are educated enough.
Unfortunately , ECB policy keeps pacifying these problems instead of ringing the bell. Devaluation inside or outside the EU has the same effect, the difference is the existence of the ECB.
>> The un-competitiveness of the south was subsidized by the EU for decades
And one way of subsidizing them was through Euro currency. Bonds of Italy, Greece, Spain, etc. had lower interest rates in Euro that they would have if they were in their own currencies. Many financial institutions had just blindly been buying them as "EU bonds", without paying much attention which country they came from.
Unfortunately , ECB policy keeps pacifying these problems instead of ringing the bell. Devaluation inside or outside the EU has the same effect, the difference is the existence of the ECB.