In 1991, the European Union undertook to form a full-fledged monetary union. It established the European Monetary Union with a European Central Bank (ECB) at its apex and a mandate to pursue price stability. The European regime differs from the US Federal Reserve System, which must pursue high...

After the fuzziness in Europe that surrounded the implementation of the excessive deficit procedure foreseen by the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), the European Union had to restore the credibility of the weakened fiscal rule. The constraint was to keep alive the Treaty of Amsterdam. Indeed, an...