CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES OF MONETARY INTEGRATION - THE EXPERIENCE OF CEE COUNTRIES: LESSONS FOR ROMANIA

There are two aspects of European integration and its essential that both are understood.. Joining the European Union means to fulfil Copenhagen criteria, which is a different thing from joining the Economic and Monetary Union based on Maastrict criteria, but they are very interconnected. Even if the deficit criteria establised by the Maastricht Treaty seems a common sense one, many countries face problems in this respect. There are opinions that Economic and Monetary Union is a political project with economic consequences, instead of an economic project with political consequences. Indeed, after joining EMU, countries loose their sovereignity on monetary policy and limit their room for action in the fiscal field, related to taxation, public debt and public expanditure.