L'union économique et monétaire dans les pays en voie d'accession – intérêts économiques et politiques

The European Union (EU) enlarged to 25 member states will start operating on May 1,2004.This paper, reviewing the position of the EU and of the Accession Countries (AC) in terms of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and adoption of the Euro, argues that the further integration in this area is much more about the deepening of the political integrity of the EU than about lowering transaction costs. The AC will become members of the EMU but not of the Euro from the first day of their membership in the EU. A debate, however, on the political and economic implications resulting from the adoption of the Euro by the Accession Countries (AC) is full of unsolved issues. The central one is to define the possible scenario of path to the Euro by these countries. It implicates actions on both sides of coming Euro-negotiations. The AC need to proceed to a number of economic reforms and to enhance a political debate on the merits of using the Euro. On the EU side, undertaking reforms, including the redefinition of the rules of the Growth and Stability Pact (GSP), is an indispensable requisite for a proper functioning of the « old» economies. The lack of reforms may hamper a political position of the EU.