Are the Protests in Spain a Sign of the Euro's Inevitable Collapse?

UK's

posted a video of current on-going riots in Spain. Spanish citizens are protesting “austerity measures” the Spanish government has undertaken to help get its fiscal house in order. The riots in Spain are similar to the events experienced by fellow struggling Eurozone-member countries

and

. In order to prevent these nations from abandoning the European currency,

packages have been given to their governments. In exchange for the bailout packages, the debt-straddled nations have been forced to make deep budget cuts—often slashing spending on welfare and public sector jobs. The

reported on Wednesday that European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso stated that the Euro was not at risk of collapse. “The Euro has been tested over these turbulent months, but it has never been at risk of collapse,” he said. Yet, with civil unrest spreading to another country, it seems likely that speculation of a Euro collapse may continue. In March, on

, Berkshire Hathaway's Warren Buffet called the potential collapse of the Euro “[not] unthinkable.” In December,

reported that Britain's independent Treasury watchdog warned that the Euro was at risk of collapsing. So how would the collapse of the Euro affect the United States? Quite severely, says

Diana Furchtgott-Roth. As the European Union is presently the

in the world, it seems intuitive that the collapse of its currency would have far-reaching effects. Traders who want to make a play on the Euro might wish to consider two ETFs: the first is ProShares Ultra Short Euro

, the second is Currency Shares Euro Trust

. EUO is a short-Euro ETF that may do well in the event of the Euro's collapse. FXE is the opposite, a long-Euro ETF. Traders who believe Barroso is sincere, and that the Euro will remain in place, may wish to consider FXE in the event the Euro becomes oversold.