CAMBRIDGE: For several years Europe has held its breath wondering whether European Monetary Union would actually happen. After traversing a minefield of obstacles, EMU is on the threshold of realization. The question is no longer whether EMU will happen, but what it will mean for Europe. I predict that EMU will be launched with an initial success that will confound its worst critics, but that the success will be followed by years of difficult challenges that will confound EMU’s most optimistic supporters. In short, EMU will happen; it will survive; and it will disappoint those with ardent hopes that monetary union will create a new European economic miracle.
CAMBRIDGE: For several years Europe has held its breath wondering whether European Monetary Union would actually happen. After traversing a minefield of obstacles, EMU is on the threshold of realization. The question is no longer whether EMU will happen, but what it will mean for Europe. I predict that EMU will be launched with an initial success that will confound its worst critics, but that the success will be followed by years of difficult challenges that will confound EMU’s most optimistic supporters. In short, EMU will happen; it will survive; and it will disappoint those with ardent hopes that monetary union will create a new European economic miracle.