NEW PERSPECTIVES ON THE EUROPEAN-MONETARY -UNION

One of the most important issues in the debate about European integrat ion is the prospects of a monetary union. The problems the European Mo netary System faced in 1992-93 has made some experts sceptical about w hether a monetary union is at all possible. In this article the author reviews the history of the EMS, what caused its crises and whether a monetary union is at all possible to establish in the future. Accordin g to the author the most crucial problem was the Maastricht Treaty its elf. The process towards the EMU was not thought through in enough det ail. Other problems were the deep recession in Europe, problems with r atification of the Maastricht Treaty and speculations against the EMS. In spite of these problems the EMU cannot be declared dead and buried . According to the author it can even be claimed that the stress put o n EMS can be used as an argument in favor of a quick transition toward s a monetary union. However, the strategy in order to achieve this goa l might have to be changed.