It will be built through concrete achievements ...” As we know with the benefit of hindsight, this statement predicted with remarkable accuracy how Europe has evolved over the past six decades and more. Indeed, since Robert Schuman’s statement there have been outstanding political and economic achievements in Europe which are unprecedented when viewed from a historical perspective.
These achievements have enhanced mutual understanding within Europe and safeguarded peace and freedom among an ever-growing number of countries that have become part of the European Union. Of these achievements, the European monetary union (EMU) is likely to be the most outstanding, not least because our common currency is probably more tangible than any other European project.