Der Ministerrat der Europäischen Union will Ende März auf seinem Gipfeltreffen in Berlin die Weichen endgültig in Richtung auf eine Osterweiterung der EU stellen. In der wissenschaftlichen und politischen Diskussion besteht weitgehend Einigkeit darüber, daß diese Erweiterung des...

Economic activity in the euro area is recovering. In the second half of 2003, real GDP grew at an annualized rate of roughly 1½ percent. In contrast with other large industrialized countries, economy-wide capacity utilization has not yet increased. Private consumption has remained the major...

Economic expansion in Euroland has decelerated considerably after mid-2000 as a consequence of the weakening of growth in the world economy, the tightening of monetary policy by the European Central Bank as well as the burden imposed by higher oil prices. While the upswing in the euro area has...

In the spring 2001, the world economy is in a delicate situation. The vigorous growth momentum that prevailed in the recovery in 1999 and into 2000 is clearly gone. In the second half of 2000, global growth decelerated rapidly. In contrast to the last downturn of the world economy in 1997/98,...

Economic activity in the euro area has weakened since last summer. In the second half of 2002, real GDP increased at an annualized rate of around 1 percent only. Economy-wide capacity utilization has further declined and the situation on labor markets has worsened. The increase in consumer...

In the summer of 2000, the economic expansion in Euroland has continued at a rapid pace. However, a number of leading indicators suggest that the upswing will pass its peak in the second half of this year. Several reasons are responsible for the slowdown. The European Central Bank has corrected...

Die Europäische Währungsunion (EWU) soll am 1. Januar 1999 starten. Nicht auszuschließen ist, daß die Kriterien des Maastrichter Vertrags bei der Entscheidung über den Teilnehmerkreis Anfang 1998 großzügig gehandhabt werden und damit die Zahl der Teilnehmer hoch sein wird. Eine strikte...

In den Assoziierungsabkommen mit der CSFR, Polen und Ungarn bietet die Europäische Gemeinschaft weit mehr Marktöffnung, technische Kooperation und ordnungspolitische Orientierungshilfe an als bisher in allen bilateralen Handels- und Kooperationsabkommen mit Drittländern. Die Abkommen können...

The euro is a new currency, and the ECB as a new institution still has to establish its reputation. The best way to do this is for the ECB to deliver a stable money. The two-pillar strategy pursued by the ECB seems to confuse the markets because market participants are unclear about which of the...

The economy in the euro area has turned around. While GDP stagnated during the second half of 2001, there are more and more signs that output will increase considerably in the first half of this year. All in all, the slowdown has not been very pronounced. One indication for this is that in 2001,...