Southern Europe facing the single market’s completion

The European Community is now starting the final run-up towards the completion of the single internal market by the end of 1992 and member countries are currently involved in consultations at inter-governmental conferences on the creation of economic and monetary union, and on political union. This provides an appropriate opportunity of looking at what belonging to the Community has meant so far to its new members of Greece, Portugal and Spain, and at what their chances are for the future in the light of these developments. What have their entry into the EC and the Single European Act meant to Greece, Portugal and Spain, and what lessons ought to be learned from that?     

Current account balances and international economic policy coordination

The existing balances on the current accounts of the major industrialised countries have given rise to demands, addressed particularly to German economic policy-makers, which amount to a revitalisation of the “locomotive theory”. However, were the world economy once more to be “reflated” in accordance with the “locomotive theory”, there would be a danger that the improvements in stability which have been attained would be sacrificed without actually solving the pressing international economic problems.