The euro and the ESCB have started in January 1999 and there is naturally a wide-ranging interest in academia and among policymakers in OECD coun tries, how successful European Monetary Union will and can be. EMU has started with 11 countries and experienced a rapid depreciation of the cur rency. With so many EU countries joining for a historical monetary union in a period of economic globalization, international financial market changes and ongoing EU enlargement the problem of monetary policy efficiency becomes crucial; especially as so many countries in the EU still have high unemploy ment...