Economic and Monetary Union in Europe: Legal Implications of the Arrival of the Single Currency

Part I of this Article presents an overview of EMU, addressing first the Member States that will participate in EMU from the outset and how they were chosen, as well as the new institutions that will guide and support EMU. This Article will then focus on the EU regulations that provide the legal framework for EMU, analyzing issues in the regulations of particular legal interest. This structural discussion will also describe what Participating Members States must achieve to ensure that EMU stays on track and how EU institutions will supervise their performance. Part I closes with a brief look at the international role of the euro. After discussing the structure of EMU, this Article will focus in Part II on what EMU will mean for companies operating in the brave new world of the euro zone and, in particular, on the legal issues raised by the introduction of the euro. This Article will look at the implications for the public obligations of companies, and, in particular, concerns about the continuity of contracts denominated in European Currency Unit ( ECU ) or in one of the national currencies that will be replaced by the euro. It will then look at how the financial markets -- debt, equity, and derivatives -- are expected to change and what the change implies for companies seeking to raise financing in these markets. This Article will finally and briefly look at the new systems to be put in place under EMU to facilitate the increased flow of expected transactions