The Advantages And Disadvantages Of The Economic And Monetary Union

The Euro and its Impact on the U.S. Economy The euro is the official currency of the following 12 European nations: Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Luxembourg, Ireland, Italy, The Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, and Finland. Although it has been the official currency since January 1,1999 it became physical tender which can be used by all participating countries on January 1,2002. The introduction of the euro into the world was truly a historic event; it represented a unity never before seen in the history of Europe, a common currency. After years of negotiations and much skepticism from around the globe, the implementation of the euro is no longer an abstract ideal, but a change that nations, corporations, and investors must

As of 2012, only seventeen of members of the European Union have decided to use Euros as their currency. In order for the members that adopted the Euro as their currency to successfully help their economic problems, the Eurozone members had to follow strict instructions put into place the European Union. The strict policies included strict control over inflation, government debt, and long-term interest rates (Mckee 525). The union put these strict policies into place to give the union the tools that it needed to take in order to help fix the economic crisis in each country participating in the Eurozone. Without the full cooperation of each country, it could cause the plans to fix the economic crisis within each country to fail because of the different interests by each individual country.

The euro is not the currency of all EU Member States. Two countries (Denmark and the United Kingdom) have ‘opt-out’ sections in the Treaty excusing them from involvement, while the rest (numerous of the more recently agreed EU members plus Sweden) have yet to meet the situations for approving the single currency.

Whether the United Kingdom decides to join the European single currency and replace the pound with the euro will have profound economic as well as political effects on the country so is a very important decision and has considerable variations in attitudes towards the topic, although the British public opinion has consistently opposed joining the euro. The euro is currency shared by 18 of the European Union's Member States. The euro was introduced in 1999 and automatically became the new official currency of 11 States, followed by another 7 countries joining to date. However, the UK negotiated an opt-out to from the Treaty meaning they don’t have to adopt the common currency as they fit a certain criteria [1]. Joining the European single currency can have major advantages for the UK, such as diminished uncertainty of exchange rate for businesses and the decreased need to pay transaction costs of changing currencies when abroad. It can also have disadvantages such as loss of domestic monetary policy and variable rate debt in the UK.

In Europe, the single currency created additional problems because of overvalued exchange rates, and high bond yields.” (Pettinger, 2013).

This story is enlightening due to a clear overview of how a single currency with the ultimate goal of union and growth results idealistic as differences, not only regarding cultural and social backgrounds but also political ones, makes it very difficult for the Eurozone as a whole to have the same objectives and interests.

In 1992, twelve countries came together and signed the Maastricht Treaty creating the European Union (Krajewska, 2014, pp. 6-25). The last obstacle that the EU had to face was the different currencies of each country, therefore a decade later on January 1, 1999 the Euro was created. Many countries that adopted the new currency fell within the Euro Area. Each country had to discontinue their old currency and the monetary policies giving control the newly formed European Central Bank (ECB), but each separate country still had their own fiscal policies one of the key reasons for the current debt crisis (Krajewska, 2014, pp. 6-25). The union of multiple countries into a central body seemed to be a wise choice for greater economic growth, but the failure from one country is a failure for all.

A single currency means that currency exchange, and the transaction cost involved, would no longer occur which would save resources (Brothwood, 2002; Huhne, 2001; Johnson, 2000; Lane, 2001; Minford, 2004, 2008; Mulhearn & Vane, 2005). According to the EU (as cited in Minford, 2008), the savings that is realized through the adoption of the euro is around 0.4% of GDP (Johnson, 2000; Minford, 2004, 2008). However, Minford

On the first of January 2002, history 's largest currency changeover occurred. The changeover was a challenge of unseen proportions involving banking sectors, retailing companies and the overall public of the Eurozone. So how did this politically sound concept result in what can only be described as widespread economic turmoil? Of the member states, Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and Spain (PIIGS), have been the most condemned for their actions in the run-up to the crisis. Five years on, there are continued discussions of a possible exit of Greece from the Eurozone or 'Grexit, ' bringing into question the true stability of a single currency

After the long awaited single currency implementation known as the euro, there have been many ups and downs to this monetary system. Many have been quick to criticize while others still praise its value claiming it will soon be valued strongly against the dollar. Our paper looks into the various aspects of the euro and the progress it has made since its initiation. We begin with a brief history of the euro then move on by raising some questions concerning the effects of the euro on various economic aspects such as competition and global financial institutions. We then provide insight to the various strengths and weaknesses of the euro and the implications this currency has on various institutions such as banks.

When the Eurozone was founded on January 1, 1999, it was with the intention of further integrating and strengthening the nations of Europe, both economically and politically. Until recently, it was believed that the euro provided a stable currency with low inflation and low interest rates and encouraged sound public finance. That the use of a single currency increases price transparency, eliminates currency exchange costs, oils the wheels of the European economy, facilitates international trade, and gives the European Union a more powerful voice in the world. That the size and strength Eurozone would better protect it from external economic shocks, and provide the EU’s citizens a tangible symbol of their European identity, of which they can be increasingly proud as the euro area expands and multiplies these benefits for its existing and future members (European Commission).

The Euro is the commonly accepted currency for 19 of the 27 members of the European Union. It combines members of the European Union by creating the Eurozone, a negotiated partnership that share economic and political beliefs. The agreements made between these countries were expected to have a positive and

The euro was introduced on the 1st of January, 1999 to foster economic integration and growth. The current member countries of the Euro are Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain. The Euro involves a single, fixed currency within the Eurozone area. The member states are required to adopt a common monetary policy set by the European Central Bank (the same interest rate and policy on quantitative easing). The Growth and Stability Pact was incorporated to set strict limits on government’s budget deficit, gross debt and price stability.

There is an erroneous assumption in the world that the concept of the European Union, the notion of having a shared currency, and borderless pan-European continent is a relatively new idea. However, the idea of a pan-European identity as it is known today through the European Union was established after the end of the Second World War, as the need for a united Western Europe was needed to combat the possible threat of war with the Soviet Union. The policies of the European Union went through a long review through the establishment of multiple pan-European organizations, primarily the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the European Economic Community (EEC), which provided the backbone of the modern European Union, through a number of treaties that encouraged European cooperation. It is through the combined efforts of the ECSC and the ECC that Churchill’s dream of a united Europe in 1949 eventually culminated in the creation of the European Union (E.U), an organization whose role is to protect the economic interests of aligned nations as outlined by the mandates of the ECSC and ECC.

A common currency also minimizes uncertainty about exchange rate fluctuations among member nations. However, as is often the case in economics, there exist tradeoffs that policymakers must recognize. The most notable is that by joining the Eurozone, a nation is relinquishing its abilities to operate their own central bank and easily enact desired monetary policy. Obstfeld warned in 1998 that “nationally asymmetric real shocks” could make transitioning to the Euro difficult for nations (4). Maurer notes that today the EMU has resulted in convergence of nominal interest rates but divergence of real interest rates due to differences in business cycles (5). If business cycles among Eurozone members were to converge however, it might make sense to have a unified central bank and monetary policy. Massmann and Mitchell report that depending on how one measures this convergence, one can get drastically different results (16). These results yield a weak argument that the cycles have converged and suggest centralized monetary policy might be inappropriate at times for some members.