The Euro

The Euro has proven to have many advantages for the European Union, putting them on the path for political solidarity. With the Euro comes the elimination of exchange-rate fluctuations, making the fluctuations of currency values across Europe "a thing of the past". Price transparency is another advantage of the Euro, which makes it easier to tell if the price of a product in one country is different than the price of the same product in another country. This encourages competition between countries, mobilizing economies to grow and compete with each other in different markets. Transaction costs become much less of a burden to tourists and business people alike when they do not have to constantly exchange their currency from another country when traveling within the European Union. This saves both time and money, which encourages more travel between countries for tourists and business men/women.

All of the advantages mentioned so far contribute to the increased trade across borders also. Again, this boosts the economy of the countries within the European Union. With the European Union and it's currency, the Euro, there is an increased cross-border employment. Businesses are more likely to employ and conduct business across different countries with the introduction of one currency. This means a person could work across the border in another country since the same currency is paid to employees across the European Union. There is an increase in the financial market stability with the introduction of the Euro across many countries as well. One currency means more stability across Europe and the members of the European Union. Inflation rates are decreased, as are the interest rates, to promote the growth of markets in these developing countries. Countries that wanted to become a part of the European Union had to shape up their economies, encouraging a growth in their markets, to keep up with the requirements of being a part of the European Union.

The Euro's position relative to the U.S. dollar and the potential political and economic consequences in relations between the U.S. and the European Union are very important topics when discussing trade between these nations. First, the Euro is worth 135% of one U.S. dollar. This should make it clear that we have to focus on exporting more of our goods to the European Union and its members rather than buying (importing) more of their goods during this time. This