New risks ahead: The eastward enlargement of the Eurozone

The eastward enlargement of the eurozone will follow hot on the heels of the eastward enlargement of the EU. The membership of the accession countries in the eurozone, however, may cause additional risks both for these countries and for the EMU itself. The following paper gives an overview of how policies and markets will be affected and discusses, in the light of the risks involved, whether the Maastricht criteria should be revised to cater for the special needs of the accession countries. Professor Bolle and his team coordinate the research programme “EZONEPLUS—The Eastward Enlargement of the Eurozone”, supported by the European Union. The project includes research institutions from Estonia, Finland, Italy, Poland, Portugal and Slovenia.