The adoption of the euro has been the final stage of the European integration process. Its goal was the increase in the effectiveness of the markets through the elimination of foreign exchange risk, the increase in credibility of the Member State policy and the strengthening of competition on the EU market. These benefits have been supposed to directly influence the rate of economic growth.

Has such a thing happened? Since May 1, 2004, the answer to this question has been vital not only for the 12 countries that adopted the euro and the three ones that are still hesitating but also for the 10 new member countries that will adopt the single European currency in the future.

It was possible to identify the positive influence of accession to the EMU on the economic growth. The evaluation of this influence has turned out to be statistically important and amounted to ca. 1 percentage point. The sample included the years 1997-2002. Within this period, the monetary integration underwent two phases. In the years 1999-2001 the euro was used in non-cash settlements, and in 2002 was fully introduced into circulation. In this model, the author assumed that the introduction of the euro into cash operations had not resulted in additional growth.

It is interesting that the author obtained this result after solving the economic growth model without taking investments into account (the most important factor influencing the economic climate according to economics theory). The variable, which replaced the investments in the model, has been the economic growth in the United States. It follows from the fact that the European Union is not a separate organism and through its many connections it receives impulses caused by economic perturbations and tensions on the international stage, and the US is the most important trade partner of Europe. The outcome of my research is that the economic climate in the United States (the major trade partner of the euro area) affects strongly the economic situation in the EU in the current year (0.68 percentage point) and in the previous year (0.45 percentage point).

After several years, the positive effects of adoption of the single currency may be already noticed. It gives hope for the acceleration of economic growth in the EU countries that will adopt the euro in the future.