制卧价贸易上兰 金融英语阅读 Making this unprecedented transfer of monetary sovereignty a success depended critically on the credibility of this new supranational institution.Lacking a track record,the ECB has drawn on the experience and credibility of the national central banks in building its reputation.The ECB has come of age in a very short time,owing to its substantial institutional independence and a clear monetary policy strategy aimed at price stability,the meaning of which has more recently been clarified as consumer price inflation "below but close to 2 percent." Monetary union also has implications for members'public finances.While the ECB conducts a single monetary policy,fiscal-and structural-policies remain the responsibility of each member,albeit with the stipulation that national policies be regarded "as a matter of common concern."One implication is that the monetary integrity of the euro area needs to be supported by sound fiscal budgets.To ensure areawide fiscal discipline,the Maastricht Treaty obligates members to avoid "excessive fiscal deficits,"as defined more fully in the Stability and Growth Pact (see article,page 22).The pact's principal aim is to maintain sound government finances as a permanent feature of EMU through its monitoring and (if necessary)penalty components.The pact aims to promote budgetary policies that would support a stability-oriented monetary policy without resorting to excessive fiscal deficits during the course of normal cyclical fluctuations. Queuing up for the euro Along with new institutions,the euro area's geography has changed since the single currency's creation.Since Greece's entry as the twelfth member in 2001,the euro area covers all but three members of the European Union prior to its enlargement this past May:Austria,Belgium,Finland,France,Germany,Greece,Ireland,Italy, Luxembourg,Netherlands,Portugal,and Spain.When ratifying the Maastricht Treaty, the United Kingdom and Denmark were granted "opt outs"from replacing their national currencies with the euro while leaving the option open for the future. Sweden was granted a derogation but not permanent exemption and so is required to adopt the euro,but not by a fixed date.Of these three countries,only Denmark currently maintains the Danish krone's rate of exchange against the euro well within narrow (+21A percent)fluctuation bands of EMU's transitional exchange rate mechanism,ERM2. All 10 countries that joined the European Union in May are expected to adopt the euro,though no deadline has been set(see the article on page 29).In addition to the other convergence criteria specified in the Maastricht Treaty,a country intending to adopt the euro must undergo at least two years of exchange rate stability in ERM2. With the current diversity of exchange rate arrangements in these countries,the prospect of wider euro adoption will thus entail a shift toward greater use of the euro, first as a reference and intervention currency and,eventually,as domestic money. Nevertheless,deciding whether it is preferable to adopt the euro sooner or later-or at all,as in the case of the United Kingdom and Denmark-is a complex issue. Fundamentally,each country must determine for itself at what point the benefits of conformity-such as the promise of greater trade and financial integration with the 第2页共3页金融英语阅读 Making this unprecedented transfer of monetary sovereignty a success depended critically on the credibility of this new supranational institution. Lacking a track record, the ECB has drawn on the experience and credibility of the national central banks in building its reputation. The ECB has come of age in a very short time, owing to its substantial institutional independence and a clear monetary policy strategy aimed at price stability, the meaning of which has more recently been clarified as consumer price inflation "below but close to 2 percent." Monetary union also has implications for members' public finances. While the ECB conducts a single monetary policy, fiscal—and structural—policies remain the responsibility of each member, albeit with the stipulation that national policies be regarded "as a matter of common concern." One implication is that the monetary integrity of the euro area needs to be supported by sound fiscal budgets. To ensure areawide fiscal discipline, the Maastricht Treaty obligates members to avoid "excessive fiscal deficits," as defined more fully in the Stability and Growth Pact (see article, page 22). The pact's principal aim is to maintain sound government finances as a permanent feature of EMU through its monitoring and (if necessary) penalty components. The pact aims to promote budgetary policies that would support a stability-oriented monetary policy without resorting to excessive fiscal deficits during the course of normal cyclical fluctuations. Queuing up for the euro Along with new institutions, the euro area's geography has changed since the single currency's creation. Since Greece's entry as the twelfth member in 2001, the euro area covers all but three members of the European Union prior to its enlargement this past May: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain. When ratifying the Maastricht Treaty, the United Kingdom and Denmark were granted "opt outs" from replacing their national currencies with the euro while leaving the option open for the future. Sweden was granted a derogation but not permanent exemption and so is required to adopt the euro, but not by a fixed date. Of these three countries, only Denmark currently maintains the Danish krone's rate of exchange against the euro well within narrow (±2lA percent) fluctuation bands of EMU's transitional exchange rate mechanism, ERM2. All 10 countries that joined the European Union in May are expected to adopt the euro, though no deadline has been set (see the article on page 29). In addition to the other convergence criteria specified in the Maastricht Treaty, a country intending to adopt the euro must undergo at least two years of exchange rate stability in ERM2. With the current diversity of exchange rate arrangements in these countries, the prospect of wider euro adoption will thus entail a shift toward greater use of the euro, first as a reference and intervention currency and, eventually, as domestic money. Nevertheless, deciding whether it is preferable to adopt the euro sooner or later—or at all, as in the case of the United Kingdom and Denmark—is a complex issue. Fundamentally, each country must determine for itself at what point the benefits of conformity—such as the promise of greater trade and financial integration with the 第 2 页 共 3 页