Abstract
This chapter analyzes the process of monetary integration in Europe between 1945 and 1992, when the Treaty of Maastricht introduced the euro as the single currency of most member states of the European Union (EU). It introduces the main theories used in dealing with the monetary integration of Europe and provides the institutional and global context in which the discussions took place. It analyzes the different types of monetary integration that Europe used and debated, including the use of the unit of account, the debate over the introduction of a parallel currency, the exchange rate coordination, and the creation of a single currency. It finally presents the different phases of the creation of the euro.
Research supporting this chapter has received funding from the European Research Council (ERC) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme (grant agreement No. 716849), project EURECON: The Making of a Lopsided Union, Economic Integration in the European Economic Community, 1957–1992. This chapter was written while the author was Jean Monnet Fellow at the European University Institute’s Robert Schuman Centre.
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Mourlon-Druol, E. (2018). European Monetary Integration. In: Battilossi, S., Cassis, Y., Yago, K. (eds) Handbook of the History of Money and Currency. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0622-7_26-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0622-7_26-1
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