ASPECTS OF THE EXCHANGE RATE TRENDS IN THE NEW MEMBER STATES OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

While most macroeconomic indicators, analyzed on a longer period of time, may indicate the "health" of an economy, the exchange rate evolution reveals, generally, the increase or decrease, non seldom brutal, of the "temperature" of an economy. Thus, the analysis of the exchange rates evolution of the New Member States (NMS) of the European Union (EU) may constitute the basis for further research concerning these regional economies in the context of the changeover to Euro. Of course, the Euro currency is not a solution against all risks (it remains the risk of overheating and the risk of the loss of competitiveness), but amid the beginning and manifestation of global financial and economic crisis, the Euro currency proved to be a good enough protection for the euro area countries, increasing the attractiveness of this monetary area for the NMS. However, NMS can restrict macroeconomic slippages caused by the crisis by implementing balanced fiscal and wage policies, and the exchange rate or other monetary instruments may be temporary outlets for stress accumulation in these economies.