This volume presents a critical examination of the EMU from different perspectives. It includes essays on the political economy of currency unions, on the Growth and Stability pact, the European Central Bank, an evaluation of the first four years of the EMU, and the costs and benefits for Sweden as well as for Britain of adopting the euro. ÍNDICE Introduction; J.Ljungberg Borders Matter; A.Klamer The Stability Pact - A Macroeconomic Strait Jacket; J.Jespersen The Euro in its Fifth Year - Expectations Fulfilled?; R.Ohr ECB and the Decline of European Democracy; J.Forder A Critical Analysis of EMU and of Sweden Joining It; R.Vaubel The UK and the Euro: Politics versus Economics in a Long-run Persepective; J.Foreman-Peck EMU in a European Perspective: Lessons of Monetary Regimes in the 20th Century; J.Ljungberg EMU as a Political Project - A Historical Interpretation; H. Albin Larsson