4 Colum. J. Eur. L. 219 (1998) Leila Sadat Wexler. Professor of Law, Washington University in St. Louis. When the Treaty on European Union (TEU or Maastricht Treaty) was signed at Maastricht on February 7, 1992, one of its most significant chapters was, of course, Title VI on economic and monetary policy. This Title added new Articles 102a through 109m to the Treaty Establishing the European Community (EC Treaty), and couched within these dense and often difficult to decipher provisions was nothing less than a revolution-the establishment of monetary union and the introduction of a single currency for the Member […]
Volume 4, Issue 2
14 posts
4 Colum. J. Eur. L. 223 (1998) J.H.H. Weiler. Manley Hudson Professor of Law and Jean Monmet Chair, Harvard University. The European Union is set to inaugurate Economic and Monetary Union and, almost simultaneously, the recently concluded Treaty of Amsterdam is to come into force. The combination of these two events is emblematic—exquisitely so- of the Janus-like state of European Union. Even a surface examination of these two events yields interesting and contrasting reflections. The importance of Economic and Monetary Union-the subject of this symposium-is self-evident and obviates the need for lengthy discussion. Whilst there is still debate about the […]
4 Colum. J. Eur. L. 249 (1998) Roger J. Goebel. Professor and Director of the Center on European Union Law, Fordham School of Law. No other issue is of greater importance to the European Union today than whether and how Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) will be attained. If EMU can be successfully achieved, not only will it produce substantial economic and monetary benefits, but its success will have great political and psychological significance. A strong EMU is apt to promote further efforts toward a federal union. Conversely, if EMU fails or if there are protracted delays in its attainment, […]
4 Colum. J. Eur. L. 321 (1998) Jan Meyers. Lic. jur. Katholieke Universiteit Leuven 1974, LL.M. Harvard 1975, J.S.D. Stanford 1982; currently a partner at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton, Brussels. Damien Levie. Lic. jur. Katholieke Universiteit Leuven 1992, lic. in economics U.C. Louvain 1993, LLM. University of Chicago 1994; currently an associate at Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton, New York. The purposes of this Article are twofold: (1) to describe the process by which a new currency, named the “euro,” will replace the national currencies of those Member States of the European Union that will form a monetary union […]
4 Colum. J. Eur. L. 353 (1998) George A. Bermann. Charles Keller Beekman Professor of Law, Columbia University School of Law. The preceding papers amply demonstrate that an important step in the progressive integration of the European Union can be a compelling one without being an easy one. The transition to economic and monetary union (EMU) in Europe is precisely such a step. In this brief comment, I hope merely to show that, however powerful may be the case for economic and monetary union, passage to it is both generating institutional misgivings and entailing what could be institutional mistakes. The […]
4 Colum. J. Eur. L. 359 (1998) Peter B. Kenen. Walker Professor of Economics and International Finance and Director of the International Finance Section, Princeton University. Three decisions will be taken in the spring of 1998 to prepare for monetary union in Europe, due to start on January 1, 1999. First, the eligible countries will be chosen. Second, the European Central Bank (ECB) will come into being through the selection of its six-member Executive Board, including the President and Vice-President. Third, the participating governments will choose the permanently fixed exchange rates at which they will enter the monetary union in […]
4 Colum. J. Eur. L. 375 (1998) Michele Fratianni. AMOCO Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy, Indiana University School of Business, Bloomington, Indiana. The European Union is about to achieve its dream of creating a monetary union. The road to monetary union started at the Hague Summit of 1969, which inspired the Werner Report of 1970 along with many other reports and proposals, and led all the way to the Accord that the European heads of state and government signed in the Dutch town of Maastricht in December 1991. The Accord, later to be ratified as the Treaty on […]
4 Colum. J. Eur. L. 395 (1998) Patricia Pollard. Senior Economist, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. The final stage in the creation of the European economic and monetary union (EMU) will entail the replacement of the national currencies of the Member States with a single currency-the euro. This event, which is unparalleled historically, is likely to produce the greatest potential rival to the dollar in international currency markets since the dollar deposed the pound. This paper examines the potential role of the euro as an international currency through an analysis of the functions of an international currency. Economists define […]
4 Colum. J. Eur. L. 421 (1998) James T. Little. Professor, John M. Olin School of Business, Washington University, St Louis. For economists, the most interesting of the questions regarding monetary union is whether it should be undertaken at all. By now, however, this is a moot issue. Monetary union will happen whether or not economists agree it is a good thing. While slogans such as “one market, one money” were employed by the supporters of economic and monetary union (EMU), the motivation for EMU had more to do with politics than economics in the first place. However, even if […]
4 Colum. J. Eur. L. 447 (1998) Elke Thiel. Senior Research Associate at the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik, Research Institute for International Affairs, in Ebenhausen (near Munich) and Professor for European Politics, University of Bamberg. Should the United States worry about the euro? My answer is that it probably should not, but I add some caveats. Once established, the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) will affect the transatlantic relationship in various ways. Using a single currency will have advantages for the EU financial market. The euro will give the European Union more clout in the global monetary system and […]
4 Colum. J. Eur. L. 453 (1998) Andrew C. Sobel. This Comment is based on a paper presented at the October 1997 symposium titled “The Euro: A New Single Currency for Europe?” sponsored by The Washington University School of Law and the European Studies Program at Washington University in St. Louis. The collected papers from the symposium are published in this special symposium issue of The Columbia Journal of European Law. Can we (West Europeans) take it for granted that we will remain sufficient leaders in a sufficient number of sectors to survive–in the face of countries with populations infinitely […]
4 Colum. J. Eur. L. 467 (1998) Luc Véron. European Union Fellow, School of International Relations, University of Southern Californi. As a starting point it is reasonable to assume that the European Monetary Union (EMU), in the form of a single currency, will occur, the debate over the “pros” and “cons” is over, the euro will start in time on January 1, 1999; and a vast majority of the Member States of the European Union will take part in the EMU. These assumptions have been confirmed by market expectations. The J.P.Morgan “EMU Calculator,” regularly updated on the Internet, shows market […]
4 Colum. J. Eur. L. 479 (1998) John V.C. Nye. Washington University in St. Louis. What is there left to be said about the problem of European Monetary Union in particular, and the general problem of promoting European union in general? It is hard not to agree with Giorgio Basevi that “most of what could be said about it from the point of view of positive economics has already been said, while normative economic arguments run the risk of getting obsolete by the time the paper is printed.”‘ I will therefore take this opportunity to comment on some of the […]
4 Colum. J. Eur. L. 487 (1998) Doris E. Grimm. Counselor at the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Washington, D.C. In my opinion, we live in a world largely driven by clichés and perceptions. The topic of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) provides a good example of this. Many have long held the view that Europeans, with all their diversity and supposed incompatibilities, will never be able to reconcile themselves psychologically with the idea of having to abandon their national currencies. Even less could they psychologically accept obeying some distant body of faceless technocrats ruling out of […]