The Eurojuggernaut Rolls On

First the unavoidables, namely France and Germany. The euro would be meaningless without either of them. There is a strong political commitment to the euro on the part of both Chancellor Kohl and President Chirac. And both have recently taken brave and politically unpopular steps to reduce budget deficits to meet the Maastricht criteria. Their continued commitment is crucial to the whole project.

Next are the probables. As of now only Ireland, Luxembourg, UK and Denmark meet the macroeconomics criteria laid down in the treaty