ht have some negative effects on the financial markets (e.g. the price of the euro fall recently, which led to some skepticism about the stability of the currency). It is essential for member states to follow a policy of price stability and it should be noted that the euro is a “young” currency and such fluctuations in its exchange rate are expected at the beginning.There is a possible scenario that financial market speculation might derail the EMU until 2002, when the national currencies and the euro will co-exist. The reason for this is that the currencies of the member states have different weight. Some of them like the German mark and the British pound are very strong, while currencies like the Greek Drahma are weak. The demand for the strong currencies will increase, while the demand for weak currencies will decrease. Having in mind that there is currently a fixed exchange rate among them, a disbalance in the financial market might follow. This is wrong however because of two reasons. First, the period of co-existence between the euro and the national currencies of euro-area member states is not a trial period in which withdrawal is an option. This is a transition period in which the problems associated with the changeover to the euro will be resolved. Second, the national currencies of the EMU members are no longer independent. They are fixed to the euro. A speculation between currencies of the member states is pointless because this is equal to speculation with a currency of the same type.The introduction of the euro in 1999 was an event, expected for a long time. One year later, no significant problems related to the euro have been noted. The same is expected in the next 2 years during the transaction period. After that, the euro will become official currency of the European Union and there will be no more national currencies of the member states. In this way, we will witness the highest level of integration among in...
