Publication

The year has just begun, yet in many parts of Europe, 1 January 2007 is being eagerly anticipated. This is the day when three of the new member states of the European Union, Estonia, Lithuania and Slovenia, intend to join the monetary union. Although the European Central Bank and the European Commission supported this step up until the end of last year, more and more critical voices in these institutions are now speaking of a "premature" accession.