THE CHANGEOVER TO A UNIFIED EUROPEAN CURRENCY: WHY A ‘BIG BANG’ APPROACH IS NECESSARY 1

A question mark still hangs over the way in which a European common currency (hereafter referred to for convenience as the ‘Euro’) can be introduced. The debate on the subject has been about whether the national currencies and the ‘Euro’ should be allowed to circulate together over a fairly long period of time, or whether the latter should be introduced through a ‘big bang’.