EUROPEAN MONETARY INTEGRATION - A NARROW OR A WIDE EMU

The paper challenges the view that only a European Monetary Union (EMU ) composed of a small group of 'core' countries is desirable on econom ic grounds, and argues that both the recent experience of the ERM and new research suggest that a relatively wide EMU does not just seem app ropriate on purely Optimum Currency Area grounds but also appears nece ssary to preserve the integrity of the Single Internal Market. This ma kes it all the more important to develop the appropriate transitional arrangements that will enable a sufficiently wide EMU to be establishe d, if not in a single step, at least in a series of steps not too dist ant from each other, At stake is not only the chance to create a monet ary union which is adequately representative of Europe, but also the p reservation of the integrity of the Single Internal Market.