Die Wirtschafts- und Finanzkrise 2008/09 - die erste Bewährungsprobe für die Europäische Wirtschafts- und Währungsunion.

The current economic and financial crisis can be seen as a considerable challenge for the European Monetary Union. The European Central Bank (ECB), the European institutions and the member states tried to prevent the European economies from sliding into a depression by undertaking monetary as well as fiscal policy actions. The aim of the paper is to analyse the sensitivity and absorbability of the EU with respect to exogenous shocks, in doing so, monetary policy as well as fiscal policy tools are presented and evaluated. Hereby is referred to the reactions of the ECB in comparison to those of the FED as well as the investigation of the impulses of fiscal policy actions undertaken by the EU on its member states. In line with the analysis, weaknesses, mainly in the area of fiscal policy, are identified and possible threats are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]