While the Maastricht Treaty envisages a single European Currency as part of the Economic and Monetary Union, it contains no detailed instructions as to the practical arrangements for its introduction. Despite prolonged discussions and negotiations at various levels, no consensus has so far been...

After almost four decades of price stability, inflation has recently approached historical highs. Initially driven by global energy and food price increases, the magnitude of the surge in inflation caught central banks and markets by surprise. Price pressures are now increasingly broadening to...