The European Union Review 

Vers la Monnaie Unique Européenne: entre Volontarisme et Pragmatisme

Christian Aubin - Université de Poitiers, France

During the preparation of the project for a European Monetary Union, two views were opposed, corresponding to some divergence of interests. The resulting difficulties have been overcome through trade-offs and compromises. Pragmatism and voluntarism have led Europe at the eve of quite an original experiment. Characterised by a Monetary Union without a political union, this project is not free from any danger. While defining the common monetary policy, the European Central Bank shall discard at the same time, too much flexibility, owing to the desire to content everybody, and too much strictness, aiming at asserting its independence. Even if some preventive arrangements exist, they should not preclude from pragmatism in the interpretation and implementation of the Monetary Union institutional framework.