10 Years of the Euro: Achievements, Challenges & Lessons for Asia. EU Centre, Singapore Policy Brief Number 1, March 2009

The creation of the Economic and Monetary Union and the euro ten years ago was a leap forward in the process of European integration. This brief looks at the achievements of the first decade of the euro and the challenges as we go ahead. It finds that the euro and the EMU have generally been a success. At the same time, the successes of the past decade were helped by relatively benign conditions in the world economy which have abruptly ended with the onset of the international financial crisis. The crisis is the first major test and a significant challenge for the euro-area. It has exposed existing imbalances within the euro-area that were mitigated by the favourable economic developments and raised the stake for economic coordination. In spite of looming challenges, the EMU offers important protection for its members and can mitigate the effects of the crisis. The experience of the past decade with the euro offers lessons for the ongoing economic integration in Asia. Any lessons, however, should take into account the existing differences between the two models of regional integration

The political economy of environmental regulation: the case of legal liability in the European Union

SIGLEAvailable from Bibliothek des Instituts fuer Weltwirtschaft, ZBW, Duesternbrook Weg 120, D-24105 Kiel C 193561 / FIZ - Fachinformationszzentrum Karlsruhe / TIB - Technische InformationsbibliothekDEGerman

The Euro After Its First Decade : Weathering the Financial Storm and Enlarging the Euro Area

The first decade of economic and monetary union in Europe (EMU) has been a huge success. EMU has significantly benefited its member countries and accelerated the European integration process. Imbalances within EMUdifferences in growth, inflation, competitiveness, current account and budget balanceshave, however, increased in the last 10 years and, with their economic implications, have become more evident in the global economic crisis. The euro has served as a shield during the crisis, and arguments that the crisis would lead to a breakup of the monetary union are neither new nor convincing. But there are lessons to be learned. Policies should be better coordinated among EMU members and structural reforms accelerated, the framework for the supervision of financial markets strengthened, and external representation streamlined. The crisis has also made the euro more attractive, and most EU countries that are not yet members of EMU are expected to join during the next decade.Europe monetary union, economic integration, financial crisis, reform

The Euro After Its First Decade: Weathering the Financial Storm and Enlarging the Euro Area

The first decade of economic and monetary union in Europe (EMU) has been a huge success. EMU has significantly benefited its member countries and accelerated the European integration process. Imbalances within EMU-differences in growth, inflation, competitiveness, current account and budget balances-have, however, increased in the last 10 years and, with their economic implications, have become more evident in the global economic crisis. The euro has served as a shield during the crisis, and arguments that the crisis would lead to a breakup of the monetary union are neither new nor convincing. But there are lessons to be learned. Policies should be better coordinated among EMU members and structural reforms accelerated, the framework for the supervision of financial markets strengthened, and external representation streamlined. The crisis has also made the euro more attractive, and most EU countries that are not yet members of EMU are expected to join during the next decade.european monetary union; first decade; enlarging euro area; financial storm