The blueprint for economic and monetary union as set out in the Maastricht Treaty does indeed envisage the establishment of a single monetary policy to be conducted by a new supranational institution, the Eurosystem, with the ECB at its centre. Economic policies, on the other hand, have essentially remained the competence of the Member States.
At the time, many commentators doubted the feasibility of a monetary union in Europe without some form of “political union”. Today, nine months into the life of the new currency, our first experiences allow us to paint the following picture.