This edition presents, as a double number, two interrelated reports on preparatory aspects of the introduction of the euro.

In a little over one year, Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) will enter its third and final phase. As the date of 1st January 1999 approaches, the debate over European monetary unification is accelerating. The time has come, therefore, to shift our attention from the legal and technical issues...

Several studies have documented the weak response of regional wages differentials and labour mobility following region-specific ("idiosyncratic") shocks in the average of the EU countries. This has been often taken as evidence of the rigidity of labour markets in European countries, as opposed...

In a little over one year, Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) will enter its third and final phase. As the date of 1st January 1999 approaches, the debate over European monetary unification is accelerating. The purpose of the present paper is to review and assess the recent debate. This review is...

The Maastricht Treaty provided the blueprint for achieving Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) as a further stage in the process of political and economic integration of the European Union (EU). In order to qualify to participate in EMU, Member States were required to achieve a high degree of...

Article 106 (ex 105 a) of the Treaty establishing the European Community maintains the historical tradition separating the issue of banknotes, for which the Central Bank is competent, and the issue of coins, which is the responsibility of the finance ministries. It is therefore for the European...

At the end of the first half of the transitional period, this communication privides an overview of the preparations undertaken so fare and those required for the final changeover to the euro at the beginning of 2002. Two events are associated with the end of the transitional period: as from 1...

Though it is generally accepted that the introduction of the euro is a business issue, its impact on information technology (IT) is tremendous. Since the mutual dependency of business and IT is crucial and undeniable, company management must consider both the business and IT aspects of euro...

The European Union is now in the final phase of a journey into Economic and Monetary Union which began more than ten years ago. Monetary Union became a reality on 1 January 1999; since then the euro has been the currency of eleven Member States according to the blueprint laid down by the Treaty of...