Ten Years of EMU – Achievements, Weaknesses, Challenges

Ten years after the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) had been completed, an assessment
of the early years is bound to be an ambivalent one. On the one hand, price stability was fostered by the
introduction of the euro, and the new currency soon acquired a global status next to the dollar. Monetary
Union stimulated also cross-border trade within the euro area. On the other hand, the expected growth
"dividend" has so far failed to materialise. GDP growth in the euro zone lagged behind that of countries
outside the single-currency area. Notwithstanding the complicated and asymmetric policy framework
governing EMU, the responsible institutions have co-operated timely and smoothly during the international
financial market crisis, trying to limit the damage for the financial sector as well as for business activity through a co-ordinated approach. For some countries outside the euro area, the common currency
has gained attractiveness during the crisis.