David Hale, chief economist at Zurich Kemper Investments in Chicago – which manages assets of some $80,000m and is part of Zurich Insurance Co, reckons that there is only one word for rush into European Economic & Monetary Union , Euroticism. He reckons the political will to proceed on time is so enormous that it will likely happen – but that if it went ahead without effective microeconomic reform, there would be recurring crises over its viability during the early years of the next century. If it was deferred with effective action to revive it later, European financial markets could rally quickly after any negative kneejerk reaction to such a deferral. But , he said, if it is deferred without effective action to pursue the reforms necessary to reduce unemployment and fiscal deficits, the European Union could enter a period of policy paralysis and social strife so severe that it will call into question its ability to cope with the challenges of globalization as an open economy during the 21st century
