The book deals with the current trends in the fiscal policy of the leading West European countries: Germany, France, Great Britain, Italy and Sweden, as well as the European Union’s financial system in the context of its expantion and further integration. Budget and tax reforms of 1998-2004 are also analyzed. Particular attention is given to the problem of interaction between national fiscal policies and the common, supranational monetary policy implemented within the framework of the Economic and Currency Union, as well as to the issue of drawing up the EU common budget, the present crisis and the future of the Growth and Stability Pact.