The main principle of the thesis is to address issues concerning structural problems of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and assess economical impact of its potential break up. This in turn implies the need to discuss certain issues. Firstly, since the EMU is based on the concept of Optimal Currency Area (OCA); I start my research with the test whether EMU in its current structure fits the definition of OCA. Secondly, I provide the extensive study on the reasons of current crisis in order to understand the root causes. Thirdly, I assess the potential implications of different ways out of the current sovereign debt crisis.

Why has not Britain joined euro until now? This is an attractive issue. The purpose of this paper is to realize the real reasons. Hence, this paper analyzes the euro policies of Thatcher Government, Major Government and Blair Government. Before interpreting British euro policies, this paper explains the process of British EU membership. In addition, this paper introduces the story of EMU which is relative to euro. Most importantly, here this paper takes ¡§Europeanization¡¨ framework as a study tool to examine British euro policies. Through ¡§Europeanization¡¨ framework, this paper proposes many factors affecting British euro policies, including ¡§goodness of fit,¡¨ ¡¨veto players,¡¨ ¡§timing,¡¨ ¡¨political beliefs and organizational cultures,¡¨ ¡§the costs of institution changing¡¨ and so on. Thus, this paper concludes that Britain hasn¡¦t joined euro until now owing to many factors.

Asian efforts towards bond market development are driven by the 1997-98 financial crises; Central and Eastern European efforts by the transition towards EMU. The small size of most of the economies underlying these still "emerging" bond markets poses the question of minimum efficient scale and which options to pursue. We argue that the joint bond funds and regional bond market linkups that follow existing trade, FDI and bank ties will broaden the sources of finance, can improve market discipline, provide signals to the market, and thus increase financial stability. Based upon bond market data and analysis of regional efforts like the Asian Bond Funds, we argue that bond market development should be given more attention to foster growth and stability. (author's abstract) / Series: EI Working Papers / Europainstitut

La différenciation entre les États membres de l’Union européenne s’est progressivement transformée en un leitmotiv du débat sur l’avenir de l’intégration. Ce débat a resurgi avec l’activation de la clause du retrait par le Royaume-Uni, qui pose dans un cadre renouvelé la question de la compatibilité du processus de création d’une « union sans cesse plus étroite » avec la possibilité pour les États membres d’emprunter différentes voies d’intégration. L’objectif de la présente étude est d’apporter un éclairage sur cette question, en se focalisant sur l’amplification des manifestations de la différenciation en droit positif. La première partie de l’étude vise à cerner la tension entre l’uniformité du statut d’État membre de l’Union et la participation asymétrique des États aux actions engagées pour la réalisation des objectifs assignés à l’Union. La différenciation s’avère ainsi un facteur de relativisation de l’homogénéité du statut d’État membre, sans néanmoins mettre en cause son unicité en tant que catégorie juridique. La seconde partie s’intéresse aux effets de la différenciation sur la structure de l’Union. La prise en compte de la différence d’implication des États n’est pas sans incidence sur le système institutionnel et juridique de l’Union, sans que cela traduise un désordre affectant l’intégrité de l’Union. Il devient alors évident que, dans la creatio continua que constitue la construction européenne, la différenciation pose une question de degré, plutôt que de principe. / Differentiation between the Member States of the European Union has gradually turned into a leitmotif of the debate regarding the future of the European integration. This debate re-emerged in the context of the activation of the withdrawal clause by the United Kingdom, by raising once more the question of the compatibility of the "ever closer union" concept with the possibility for the Member States to follow different paths of integration. The aim of this study is to clarify this question by focusing on the amplification of the various forms of differentiation in positive law. The first part of the study aims to identify the contrast between the uniformity of the EU membership and the asymmetrical participation of the Member States in actions undertaken to achieve the objectives assigned to the Union. Differentiation proves thus to be a relativizing factor of the homogeneity of the Member State's status, without, however, questioning its uniqueness as a legal category. The second part of the study focuses on the effects of differentiation on the structure of the Union. The different extent of participation of each Member State in EU policies has an impact on the Union's institutional and legal framework, even though this impact does not create a disorder affecting the integrity of the Union as such. It is thus apparent that within the creatio continua of the European construction, differentiation poses more a question of degree rather than principle.