ting, The political and economic ties between Europe and the United States have been strengthened by over 40 years of close cooperation toward common goals. For a visual understanding on the United States and the European Unions relationship refer to appendix A, US-EU trade in goods, appendix B, US-EU trade in services, and appendix C, US-EU investment.Our analysis will include the history leading to the emergence of the European Economic Community and the European Union. Given the foundational background, we can then move into the topic at hand, the euro. Analysis on the euro will include the changeover stages, leading into the heart of the research, the advantages and disadvantages for both U.S. business and European businesses dealing with the single currency. Lastly a comparison between the euro and the dollar will wrap-up the research.THE ROAD TO A SINGLE CURRENCYEUROPEAN ECONOMIC COMMUNITYTo first understand the Euro, you must understand the evolvement of the European Union. The Union is the latest stage in a process of integration begun in the 1950s by six countries - France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg - whose leaders signed the original treaties establishing various forms of European integration. The strength of a potential economic integration was launched in the wake of World War II, as a devastated Western Europe sought ways to rebuild its economy and prevent future wars. To control the forces of war, a French businessman-turned-advisor, Jean Monnet proposed The Schuman Declaration, which would pool European coal and steel production under a common authority. The Schuman Declaration was regarded as the first step towards achieving a united Europe. Two major establishments that resulted were: The European Economic Community (EEC) which merged separate national markets into a single market that would ensure the free movement of goods, people, capital and services with a wide measure of common econo...
