The economic history of the European Union (EU)

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Open letter from European economists to the heads of government of the 15 member states of the European Union
Published 12 June 1997 in several European papers. The current design of Europe's economy does not provide adequate prospects of reining in high unemployment, poverty, social marginalisation and ecological deterioration. The key question is whether the current plans for further European integration, and in particular for the EMU, will bring us closer to solutions.
Extract from For a different Europe
By Adam Novak, in International Viewpoint, 19 September 1997. Social consequences of Maastrict convergence being based on fiscal vs. social criteria.
My vision of an open Europe
By George Soros, London Times, 5 November 1997. Neoliberal critique of Maastrict Cartesianism, by the person who bears much responsibility for the world financial crisis of 1997.
Bananas: the workers lose out
By André Linard, ICFTU Online ..., 26 November 1997. The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has ordered the European Union to remove its quotas on banana imports. The U.S. whose multinationals control many dollar-zone plantations won their case at the WTO, and the European Union announced it will abide by the decision, to the anger of the ACP producers and their governments.
New currency, more austerity: Selling out to the euro
By Laurent Carroué, Le Monde diplomatique, January 1999. On 1 January 1999, the euro formally replaced the national currencies of 11 European countries. For a time it seemed that Europe's governments might use monetary union to co-ordinate a programme for growth and job creation. Instead they handed control of the economy to the new central bank, depriving voters of a say in how Europe's economy is run.
The euro: What change in global balance?
By Andy McInerney, Workers World, 14 January 1999. The euro, enaugurated January 1, marks another step by the capitalists in 11 countries toward a plan of economic unity set out in the so-called Maastricht treaty of 1991. What does the euro mean for the European working class?