To a large extent, this may have taken place already before the start of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), but differences remain. One example of such a price convergence that has attracted public attention relates to car prices.
Secondly, with regard to goods and services which are less easily tradable across national borders (such as housing and hairdressing), the long-term convergence of productivity and living standards across the euro area would create a tendency towards price level convergence. Countries with higher levels of economic development tend to have higher price levels for non-traded goods and services.