Ten years after Greece’s accession to EMU, the venture has proved to be almost a complete failure. Obviously, the country joined EMU disappointingly unprepared. After EMU accession, Greece failed to seek the necessary adaptations. Its economic policy was inconsistent with the economic logic...

The topic of the Intereconomics/CEPS conference for which this paper was written was framed as a question: convergence or divergence in the EU? I am prepared to give an unambiguous answer. That answer is yes.

It is again being argued that the low labour costs and social standards in countries on the periphery of the EC - Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain - jeopardise employment in the northern EC countries and the social safety net they have constructed. A common social policy harmonising...