While it was obvious at the time of the introduction of the euro that the euro area did not satisfy the criteria for an optimal currency area, increased economic convergence was expected to make it easier to introduce the institutional reforms necessary to converge into a fully-fledged political union. This column examines convergence among early EMU entrants in terms of public services, product and labour markets regulation, and quality of institutions. The main message is pretty clear: the viability of the EMU project seems to be more in trouble on political rather than economic grounds.