There is no way of ensuring that these criteria are set at the appropriate level. Meeting the criteria may not ensure that the single currency will work, or that once met the member countries will be able to maintain these targets throughout a full economic cycle. As such, the proposed single European currency will inevitably break down as economic circumstances in the different diverse member states diverge and national priorities take precedence. The single currency is simply too organized an idea for our unorganized world. I will always remember a university professor in Germany telling me that if national governments did not meet the pan-European criteria, the result would be poverty.
People predominate over currencies, individuals over institutions.
The best exchange rate policy in the unorganized world is one where currencies float in free markets. The various EU currencies such as the pound, deutschmark, franc and so on should float against one another, such that as economic variables differ, exchange rates can fluctuate to take these differences into account. The CAP increases food prices, ensures the allocation of too many productive resources to agriculture rather than other industry sectors, and causes too much food to be produced. By artificially setting prices above their market levels, the CAP encourages farmers to produce more of the higher priced foodstuffs and thereby causes more farming to be carried out than is needed. This is a vicious cycle caused by government intervention.