Risks of deflation in the EMU: Why is this time so deceitful?

The deep recessions characterizing the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) between the second semester of 2008 and the end of 2009, and from the last quarter of 2011 to the first quarter of 2013, were particularly severe for the euro area peripheral member states. These countries have beensubjected to a longer recessionary phase compared to the EMU‟s average. A large part of them has experienced a compression of the monetary wages andprice levels during both the two crisis periods in order to curb their macroeconomic imbalances. Italy has flown into a triple dip since the first half of 2014.Given this picture, it is not surprising that three episodes of decreasing monetary prices for the euro area as a whole can be identified. As shown later, theseepisodes coincide – respectively – with the peak of the international financial crisis during the last two quarters of 2008, the possible collapse of the Americanand European economic systems in the first term of 2009, and the main re-adjustment of macroeconomic imbalances implemented by EMU‟s countries in thelast year (2014).