The historic advent of the European Monetary Union marks the first time since the Roman Empire that a large part of Europe will have the same currency. The birth of the euro on January 1 and the concurrent rise of what has come to be called euroland, with a population larger than the U.S., raises far-reaching policy questions:
Will the euro challenge the international role of the dollar as the world’s reserve currency
How will trade within the 11 countries and with other nations be affected?
Will the exchange rate of the euro appreciate, depreciate, or remain stable against the dollar, yen, and other currencies?
How will euroland, without a single government, handle an international financial crisis and relations with other countries and international institutions such as the IMF?
What impact will the euro have on global securities markets?
To answer these and other questions, Brookings will host a briefing with Robert Solomon, Guest Scholar and author of a new Policy Brief, International Effects of the Euro. Solomon is a former senior official at the Federal Reserve Board who directed its Division of International Finance.