Maastricht Criteria at the Age of 18: Are They Converging, Which Party and to What End?

Maastricht criteria are well known to be arbitrarily designed. To top it all off, times and again they’ve been only briefly fulfilled and –worse even- often manipulated with. Among them, fiscal criteria and overall Stability and Growth Pact are perhaps the most controversial of all, as recent problems within the EMU amply demonstrate. Moreover, the epicentre of the EMS, so-called ERM2, and convergence criterion in this regard seem to be much more effective in protecting the interests of those already in the Eurozone, rather than serving as a vehicle for faster and safer euro-accession of the candidates. In addition, since some of the convergence criteria, quite regardless of their dubious effectiveness, leave room for ambiguous interpretations, let alone the often forgotten real convergence criteria earmarked in the Treaty as a carte blanche, existing members of the EMU in times of unprecedented economic hardships may well be tempted to block candidate countries on their way to Euroland. All of these issues raise numerous questions and urge for fundamental reassessment of the Maastricht criteria, as well as point at considering their reform or indeed alternative policy options from the view point of candidate- and acceding countries.