EU, EMU and the Central and Eastern European Countries

Abstract

To join or not to join: that is the question. The question is not only a Danish one but it is also a question for the Central and Eastern European (C&EE) countries, including Hungary. Joining the EU is not a question for some of the C&EE countries: it is a wish expressed when they answered the questionnaire issued by the EU, which is a precondition of starting negotiations to join. Joining the economic and monetary union (EMU) demands fulfilling the so-called convergence criteria. However, the prospects for EMU are not so clear. Even Western European countries have to analyse the costs and benefits of EMU and the obligations of the particular countries. These problems could be similar for the C&EE countries as well. Instead of a detailed analysis of EMU, I will summarise the main problems and deal with the special problems of C&EE countries.KeywordsGross Domestic ProductCentral BankPublic DebtEuropean Central BankMonetary UnionThese keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.