The Integration of Europe's Financial Markets and the Role of the ECU

If one looks back at the process of integration in the European Communities over the past 30 years since the signing of the Treaty of Rome, remarkable changes of emphasis emerge. Three important dimensions have been accorded different priority at various stages in the EC efforts over this long timespan: (1) the integration of goods markets, (2) monetary unification and macroeconomic coordination, and (3) integration of financial markets. For most of the period one may almost, following the historical paradigm of Aglietta, speak of a hierarchy of objectives. Only in the most recent 2-3 years has financial integration assumed major importance in a European strategy. […]

Originally published in the issue Vol. 22, No. 3, July-September 1987, p. 119-129