The euro exchange rate shift makes it harder to reverse the economy's slowdown, but the bloc's problems go deeper -- sluggish domestic demand, political instability in Italy and resistance in Brussels to growth-boosting fiscal expenditure.
It is also unclear that a weaker euro would actually help at a time when slower world growth is hurting consumer demand for goods and services.
Konstantinos Venetis, senior economist at TS Lombard, said exchange rates were a lesser issue than some years ago when "currency wars" saw countries actively try to influence exchange rates to get an edge over rival nations.
"What you really need is to see global demand picking up. If that happens, euro even at $1.20 won't be so painful," Venetis said. "Currency depreciation can be a way to help your exports only if the world is growing briskly and demand is healthy."
