The recent debate about the solvency of the banking system in Italy and the exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union opened the eyes for a more informed view on the legal problems related to the procedures and differences between the exit from the European Union and the introduction of a new currency. In his Working Paper, Prof. Helmut Siekmann analyzes whether it is legally possible for a EU member state to leave the euro area or to be excluded from the euro area coming to the conclusion that it is highly questionable to exclude a member state from the EU or Monetary Union.
According to Siekmann, it is neither legally possible for a member state whose currency is the euro to introduce an new currency instead or parallel to the euro or to obtain a permission from the organs of the EU or the member states to withdraw from the euro area or to implement a parallel currency.
IMFS Working Paper No. 109
Helmut Siekmann
"Replacing or Supplementing the Euro in Member States whose Currency is the Euro"
(PDF, 416 KB)
