Economic Research Department Executive Director
Sayuri Ito（）
研究領域：経済
研究・専門分野
European Economy, Regional Integration, international monetary and financial system
2002年03月01日
関連カテゴリ
The integration process of the European Union originally began with the European Coal and SteelCommunity (ECSC) in 1952， and subsequently advanced through the stages of customs union， freetrade area， and economic and monetary union. At the same time， integration advanced in size as theEU expanded from six to fifteen countries.
In March 2002， when the euro becomes the single legal currency in the euro area， the process of economicand currency integration will be complete. The single currency area is a huge entity of twelvecountries and its population of 300 million exceeds that of the U.S.， while the economy is 60% as large(Figure 1).
With the successful introduction of the single currency， integration will enter a new stage in both depthand size. This paper outlines developments in European integration in recent years， identifies unresolvedissues， and considers the future prospects.