The question whether European Monetary Union should include all the EC countries from the start or should initially be limited to a few core countries is again being discussed more intensely. What advantages would a small EMU have from an economic point of view? Which countries should be its...

The planned broadening of the common internal market into an economic and monetary union as proposed in the Delors Plan means a significant qualitative leap in the process of European integration, which should ultimately lead to political union in Europe. Is this objective realistic? In what...

The debate on the concrete shape of the second stage of European economic and monetary union ist in full swing. What are the benefits that may be expected from EMU? What risks have to be avoided?

The British Government≐s proposal to develop the ECU gradually into a “hard” European currency has begun to be viewed in a more positive light. What principles are at the heart of this proposal? Does a “hard” ECU have advantages over the existing ECU? What are its chances as a parallel...

The poorer member states of the EC are often disappointed at what they see as a very limited degree of redistribution of resources away from the richer members towards the less well off. In a recent paper to the intergovernmental conference (IGC) on political union, for example, Spain calls for...

European Economic and Monetary Union is currently in the course of preparation by an inter-governmental conference. What are the benefits and risks associated with European monetary union? What essential requirements need to be fulfilled when the agreements are concluded?

A European Monetary Union (EMU) and the complete transfer of the responsibility for monetary policy to a European central bank are no longer utopian ideas, but a politically highly relevant possibility. The question how economic policy goals can be achieved within such a monetary union is...

The decisions taken at Maastricht seem to have finally removed the obstacles to European monetary union. So have the monetary questions really been settled? Is the process of monetary convergence irreversible?

The further development of the European Community that has been decided at the Maastricht summit will be impossible to realize without a significant increase in the EC budget and an adjustment to the financing system. What will be the additional financing requirement? How could the Community's...