Currency Integration of the New EU Member Countries

The study analyzes the process of monetary integration of the New Member Countries from the moment of their accession to the European Union. The focus of investigation is on the nominal convergence (the fulfillment of the Maastricht criteria) and on the satisfaction of the Optimum Currency Area criteria by the New Member States. More specifically, the trade integration, the financial integration, the output structure and the labor markets of the New Member States are explored from the standpoints of the Optimum Currency Area theory and in the context of the already accomplished or forthcoming membership of the New Member States in the Euro Area. The experience of the NMS, which have already adopted the Euro, is also reviewed.