Abstract: This is a guide to the processes that led to the creation of the European single market and the signing of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992. The 2000 edition has only a few changes, but has been expanded six years after the original publication date to assess the economic, monetary, political, and institutional significance of the euro. It also reconsiders the rationale and underlying philosophy of European Monetary Union (EMU) in the light of the developments of the previous decade. A central theme is the proposition that a group of sovereign countries cannot for long sustain free trade, unrestricted capital movements, fixed exchange rates, and full autonomy of national macroeconomic policies, so they need to move towards monetary union and a single currency. Issues that are extensively discussed include the single currency, the tasks of a European Central Bank (ECB), the European Currency Unit (ECU), the role of budgetary rules, currency competition, and the relationship between the EMU and political union. Appendices contain extracts from official documents dealing with EMU and an extensive chronology. The book is directed at academic and business economists interested in the issues surrounding EMU, commentators, and policy-makers.

Keywords: ECU, EMU, euro, European Central Bank, European Currency Unit, European Monetary Union, European Single Market, Maastricht Treaty, macroeconomic policy, single currency