European Economic and Monetary Union: Problems, Prospects and Global Financial Implications

The process of economic integration has made considerable progress during the 1990s in the European Union (EU). Firstly, with the establishment of a single market in 1993 and now, within a relatively short period of time, the most significant yet, the movement towards a single currency for participating Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) members on 1 January 1999. This will have a major impact not only upon participating, and indeed non participating EU memebers, but also global financial markets in general with the establishment of a single currency (the euro) which has the potential to rival the US dollar as a major international resreve currency.