Target – hit or miss?

Life under the euro

With the exception of architect Sir Richard Rogers, the builders of complicated structures tend not to put internal workings on public display. So it is with European economic and monetary union. While the broader economic aspects of Emu, such as the precise interpretation of the Maastricht criteria, have been the subject of endless debate, the mechanisms for making payments in euro have tended only to be discussed by technical experts. But the deal struck on the transfer system, Target, will fundamentally affect the way Europe’s financial markets operate.