The crucial role of current account imbalances (CAI) is widely acknowledged in the consensus narrative of the European crisis that followed the Great Recession. On the basis of this interpretation, CAI play a prominent role in the EU Macroeconomic Imbalances Procedure (MIP), which broadens the EU economic governance framework to include the surveillance of unsustainable macroeconomic trends. Although the widening of the CAI in the Euro Area before the crisis is a matter of fact, and the consensus narrative contains elements of truth, alternative views have been put forward on three main issues: (i) the relevance of CAI, (ii) their causes and connection with the crisis, and (iii) their policy implications. The aim of this paper is to examine these controversial points about the causes, meaning and consequences of CAI, and discuss the alternative policy prescriptions that emerge.

经常账户失衡（CAI）的关键作用在大萧条之后的欧洲危机的共识叙述中得到了广泛认可。基于此解释，CAI在欧盟宏观经济失衡程序（MIP）中起着重要作用，该程序扩展了欧盟经济治理框架，以包括对不可持续的宏观经济趋势的监视。尽管危机前欧元区CAI的扩大是事实，并且共识性叙述包含了事实的要素，但在以下三个主要问题上提出了替代观点：（i）CAI的相关性，它们的原因和与危机的联系，以及（iii）其政策含义。本文旨在探讨有关CAI的原因，含义和后果的这些有争议的观点，