There is no indication that the European Monetary Union (EMU) will increase labour mobility within the euro area. Even if the social partners are still responsible for collective agreements on wages at national level, the introduction of a single currency has already compelled trade unions to coordinate national wage policies and will increasingly continue to do so. In certain Member States compliance with the convergence criteria for admission to monetary union entailed measures aimed at cutting excessive budget deficits. It was just as inevitable that such restructuring of public finances would have repercussions on the development of social costs, owing to their high proportion in relation to total budgetary expenditure in the Member States.
International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations