The Euro at 20
On 1 January 1999, the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) entered into force and the euro came into being. The European Central Bank (ECB) assumed responsibility for the monetary policy of a currency union made up of 11 countries and 293 million people. Today, the Eurozone includes 19 countries with a total population of 340 million. The euro has become the second currency used in world markets under any metric and has been seen as an anchor of economic and fi nancial integration.
And yet, the euro is far from an unwavering success. The global fi nancial crisis of 2008 sent shockwaves around the world and proved to be the fi rst major test of the EMU. It exposed numerous architectural fl aws in the Union including the focus on limiting infl ation to close to two percent combined with the lack of a political mandate at the European level and the ‘no bail-out’ clause of the Maastricht Treaty. These and other obstacles hindered the EMU’s handling of the crisis and prolonged its negative effects especially in periphery countries. In this Forum, we look back at the last 20 years since the euro’s inception and consider the obstacles it has overcome and those that still lay in waiting, the design fl aws that have hindered it and how to address them as well as important lessons learned and recommendations for the future.
Editorial: The Harder the Brexit, the Harder the Impact on Northern Ireland
by Lucinda Creighton
Forum: The Euro – A Tale of 20 Years: What Are the Priorities Going Forward?
by Marco Buti, Maya Jollès, Matteo Salto
Forum: Understanding the Limitations of Maastricht
by Daniel Gros
Forum: Domesticating the Euro
by Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, Michala Marcussen
Forum: The Euro at 20: A New Deal to Save the Euro
by Thomas Mayer
Forum: The Euro at 20: Still a Project Projected to Fail?
by Adalbert Winkler
Forum: Challenges of the Euro
by Harold James
Letter from America: What’s Behind the Economic Insecurity of American Workers?
by Eileen Appelbaum