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From Here to EMU: The Role of the Ecu after Maastricht

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 August 2016

Alfred Steinherr
Alfred Steinherr*
Affiliation:
European Investment Bank, Luxembourg
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Summary

The Maasstricht Treaty on EMU has generally been hailed as “a victory for the Ecu”. This is a misinterpretation. Maastricht is a victory for the EMU. EMU does not require the actual Ecu, and the actual Ecu did not receive a boost from the decision to call the future single currency “Ecu” rather than “Euromark”. Maasstricht has not nailed down the actual Ecu’s future and has left some uncertainties. Finally, it is not certain that the future Ecu will be at least as “hard” as the Deutschemark. The Maastricht Treaty went as far as practically possible in anchoring the Ecu’s stability. But performance will depend on factors outside of the Treaty’s scope.

Résumé

Résumé

Le traité de Maastricht sur l’UEM a souvent été proclamé une « victoire de l’Ecu ». Ceci est une mauvaise interprétation, Maastricht est une victoire de l’UEM. L’Ecu, dans sa version présente, n’est pas requis pour l’UEM. Son développement n’a pas reçu l’impulsion supplémentaire du fait qu’il a été décidé d’appeler la future monnaie unique « Ecu» plutôt qu’« Euromark». Maastricht n’a pas fixée le futur de l’Ecu actuel et n’a pas résolu toutes les incertitudes. Enfin, il n’est pas acquis que le futur Ecu sera au moins aussi solide que le DM. Le traité de Maastricht a été aussi loin qu’il était possible pour ancrer la stabilité de l’Ecu, mais sa performance dépendra de facteurs dépassant le champ d’application du traité.

Keywords

423432423432
Type
Research Article
Information
Recherches Économiques de Louvain/ Louvain Economic Review , Volume 59 , Issue 1-2: Monetary Integration in Europe , 1993 , pp. 177 - 193
Copyright
Copyright © Université catholique de Louvain, Institut de recherches économiques et sociales 1993 

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Footnotes

*

With thanks to Thierry Vissol of the Commission of the European Communities for his useful comments, without implicating his responsibility. The views expressed in this paper are strictly personal.

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