Following their accession to the EU, which is planned for May 2004, eight central and east European countries will subsequently strive for integration into the Eurosystem. The Eurosystem underlines the need for simultaneous real and nominal convergence as a prerequisite for integration into the euro area. But some of the acceding countries argue that, at least in the short to medium term, a strengthening of nominal convergence makes real economic convergence more difficult. The following paper investigates this issue by means of an empirical study and attempts to establish to what extent real and nominal convergence are compatible. This publication represents the authors’ personal opinions and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Deutsche Dundesbank.
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