Genuine Economic and Monetary Union

The severity of the euro crisis has already led to a series of reforms in economic governance, but it is accepted that further reforms are needed to make the euro more robust and resilient to asymmetric shocks. Proposals put forward by the EU’s leaders to create a ‘genuine’ economic and monetary union, some of which have already been adopted, would deepen European integration to include a banking union, a greater degree of fiscal and political union and closer coordination of other economic policies. This article explains the background to the initiatives to establish a genuine economic and monetary union and assesses the progress towards achieving such a union.