Daniel Gros is the Director of the Centre for European Policy Studies, Brussels and is presently a member of the economic advisory council of the French Prime Minister. His major publications include Open Issues in European Central Banking (2000), EMU and Capital Markets (2000), European Monetary Integration, from the EMS to EMU (1992, 1998) and precursor to this volume, Winds of Change: Economic Transition in Central and Eastern Europe (1995) which he co-authored. Professor Alfred Steinherr is Rector at the Free University of Bolzano, Italy and Chief Economist of the European Investment Bank. His previous positions include Head of Research at the European Investment Bank, Economic Adviser to the European Commission and Adviser to the International Monetary Fund. He is author of Derivatives: The Wild Beast of Finance (2000) and is joint author of Winds of Change: Economic Transition in Central and Eastern Europe (1995).