In the United States, medium- to long-term inflation expectations (i.e., five years ahead) have remained stable and have been anchored at around 2 percent. By contrast, it is difficult to say that those of Japan have been anchored even at around 1 percent, accompanied by greater fluctuations compared with the United States.
These requirements for euro adoption must be fulfilled not only because the principle of equal treatment should be respected. They must be fulfilled for substantive reasons too: that is, in order to ensure the smooth entry and successful participation of a country in the European Monetary Union. We should not forget that a Member State’s decision to adopt the euro is irreversible.