Reluctant EU members : (title) / the politics and economics of the euro debate in Great Britain, Denmark, and Sweden

The first months of 2000 marked an important step in the process of European integration as twelve of the fifteen members of the European Union (EU) adopted the euro, the new European single currency. As the common monetary unit of this supranational institution the euro is intended to achieve stability in exchange rates in Europe. However, Great Britain, Denmark, and Sweden have not adopted the euro thus far although all three countries meet the essential economic prerequisites for membership in the European Monetary Union (EMU). This study explores the main issues of the debate in support of and in opposition to EMU membership in each country. The main arguments of euro \u27s critics are about loss of sovereignty as national governments surrender a large part of their decision-making on monetary and fiscal policy, while euro supporters point to economic benefits deriving from membership such as exchange rate stability and a strong single European currency. The conclusion of this study is that the main issues of the debate are along similar lines in all three countries, however, in the case of Great Britain there is an emphasis on issues related to monetary policy while in Denmark and Sweden there is an emphasis on issues related to fiscal policy. This may be due to the specific historical context relevant to each member state\u27s relation to the EU and to different institutional procedures in each country for deciding EMU membership