Does Martin Sandbu really not know who did the eurozone in?

Sir, in November 1998 in an Op-Ed titled “Burning the bridges in Europe” I believe I expressed as reasonable concerns as any about the Euro.

What I did not know at that time was that bank regulators would introduce a Basel II, by which banks were required to hold 8% in capital when for instance lending to SMEs but did not have to hold any capital when lending to “infallible sovereigns”. That of course dramatically reduced all possibilities the markets had of putting brakes on any macroeconomic imbalances.

And so now, when I read Martin Sandbu´s otherwise excellent “The euro is a scapegoat for the blunders of politicians”, August 25, I wonder more than ever about how come the absolute blunders of the Basel Committee are so brazenly ignored.

Does Martin Sandbu really not know who did the eurozone in? Or is it something else I am unaware of?