Economic and monetary union

Briefing 02-07-2020

Launched almost three decades ago, economic and monetary union (EMU) represents a very important step in the process of European economic integration. However, the recent sovereign debt crisis highlighted its incomplete design and some inherent instabilities. A series of measures were therefore taken to deepen EMU and thereby to increase its resilience. They can be grouped in three main categories: monetary measures, measures intended to complete the single market, and measures aimed at strengthening the economic union dimension of EMU. The current coronavirus pandemic has shown the urgency of many of them; recently submitted important proposals could lead to a noteworthy evolution in the architecture of EMU. This Briefing groups and highlights some of these proposals. The table at the end features a number of additional proposals in summary form.