[dualogy]

Well it DOES send a message to these countries for the future. Wouldn't be surprised if the ECB --supranational and quite independent from day-to-day voter-pleasing politics-- had a longer range view.

They do demonstrate to the world now two things:

(A) the core tenets / stability principles backing the original EUR currency idea and philosophy are not sacrificied to the current temporary economic mismanagement of one individual nation state that chose to participate in the currency, knowing fully well broad / long-range philosophy of ECB. No quick fixes, no "reckless printing" (at least not without limit or getting the country to change its ways).

(B) Big savers are encouraged to rediscover "the old ways" of saving, preserving or investing wealth -- not to hold it in "the US(D) way" of a self-feeding ever-expanding intransparent web of future promises, counterobligations, speculation. Aka "your bank account" these days.

A small country such as Cyprus is ideal to send such a strong and lasting message. People in "bigger" countries get a strong signal to "rethink their ways". Everyone learns that EUR ways are different from the USD ways in some (important) respects. And should the world ever lose confidence in the USD and/or in markets driven largely by currency debasement, deficits, debts -- the world may well remember those "early stories of the young EUR".