ABSTRACT
The Treaty on European Union signed at Maastricht in December 1991 commits the European Union (EU) to establishing a single currency. Of all EU countries, only Britain has retained the right to opt out of the final destination of economic and monetary union (EMU). Despite the recent tensions within the European Monetary System (EMS), which culminated in the withdrawal of sterling and the Italian lira, the imposition of emergency capital controls in several countries and an increase in the margins of fluctuation within the exchange rate mechanism (ERM) to ±15%, the Maastricht Treaty was successfully ratified and came into effect in November 1993. However, it has now become clear that some countries will be ready for EMU before others (see also Chapter 4). This article reviews the progress that has been made towards EMU, the problems that remain and the prospects for achieving EMU in the foreseeable future.
