EMU after five years: an assessment by the European Commission

(Source: bookshop.eu.int)

 

With the launch of the euro on 1 January 1999, and the introduction of euro notes and coins on 1 January 2002, the EU has achieved a long-standing ambition to cement closer economic integration with a single currency. Economic and monetary union (EMU) is now a tangible reality in 12 countries and is without precedent in terms of its scale and complexity.

 

Five and a half years on, the European Commission’s Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs has carried out an overall assessment of EMU. This report examines whether economic developments, institutions and the behaviour of economic agents have evolved in line with the expectations and conventional wisdom of policy makers and academics prior to the launch of the euro.

 

This assessment of EMU by the European Commission services comes at a timely moment with the recent accession of 10 countries to the EU marking a new chapter in the European integration process. A retrospective assessment of EMU may also help the incoming European Commission and European Parliament to shape their medium-term economic strategies for the 2005–2010.

 

Download the Commission’s report (4.3 MB)