At their meeting of 26 and 27 June 1989 in Madrid, the Heads of State or Government of the Twelve adopt the Delors Plan as the basis for further work on the stage-by-stage establishment of an economic and monetary union (EMU).
On 27 June 1989, at the end of the Madrid European Council, François Mitterrand, President of the French Republic, answers journalists’ questions on the implementation of the first stage of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), scheduled for 1 July 1990, and on the convening of an Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) in preparation for the subsequent stages thereof.
On 27 June 1989, following the Madrid European Council, Felipe González Márquez, Spanish Prime Minister and President-in-Office of the Council of the European Communities, and Jacques Delors, President of the European Commission, outline the implications of the three stages leading to Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).
On 27 June 1989, following intense negotiations at the Madrid European Council, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher holds a press conference on the implementation of the first stage of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) from 1 July 1990.
On 27 June 1989, the Madrid-based daily newspaper El País reports on the Madrid European Council of 26 and 27 June, which was the scene of bitter negotiations to reach an agreement on monetary union based on the Delors Report. British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was reluctant to yield a degree of sovereignty to new supranational organisations and played down the importance of the Delors Report, a document that proposed a three-stage process that would culminate in a federation of European central banks and the establishment of a common currency. French President François Mitterrand rebuffed the arguments of the British Prime Minister, arguing that ‘Europe cannot be built without transfers of sovereignty’, because ‘that is the very basis of European integration’.
On 28 June 1989, the day after the Madrid European Council’s decision to approve the gradual implementation of economic and monetary union (EMU), the British left-wing daily newspaper The Guardian calls for the European states to implement greater monetary discipline.
On 28 June 1989, commenting on the decision of the Madrid European Council to endorse the establishment of economic and monetary union (EMU) in three stages, the British left-wing daily newspaper The Guardian summarises the criticisms levelled at EMU by Margaret Thatcher’s government.
On 29 June 1989, in London, commenting on the outcome of the Madrid European Council held on 26 and 27 June, British MPs debate the issue of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and criticise the April 1989 Delors Plan which provides for the implementation of EMU in three successive stages.
On 29 June 1989, commenting on the outcome of the Madrid European Council held on 26 and 27 June, the French daily newspaper Le Monde outlines the difficult negotiations between the United Kingdom and its European Community partners on fixing the timescale for Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).
On 4 July 1989, commenting on the outcome of the Madrid European Council held on 26 and 27 June, the French daily newspaper Le Monde indicates some ambiguities in the Delors Report and the Twelve’s difficulties in securing a joint definition of the aims of and the arrangements for Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).
On 27 November 1989, the European Commission’s Directorate General for Economic and Financial Affairs (DG II) addresses a note to the members of the Monetary Committee which analyses the ecu (European Currency Unit) market in the light of the first stage of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).
On 8 and 9 December 1989, during the Strasbourg European Council, the Heads of State or Government of the Twelve decide, in particular, that the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) on the final stages of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) will reconvene before the end of 1990.
On 9 December 1989, following the Strasbourg European Council, François Mitterrand, French President and President-in-Office of the Council of the European Communities, holds a press conference during which he announces the Twelve’s decision to convene an Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) on the establishment of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) in successive stages.
At the meeting of the European Council, held on 8 and 9 December 1989 in Strasbourg, the Heads of State or Government of the Twelve decide to convene an intergovernmental conference (IGC) with a view to the revision of the Community treaties and the establishment of economic and monetary union (EMU).
On 12 December 1989, the British Parliament debates the decisions adopted at the end of the Strasbourg European Council, held on 8 and 9 December, regarding the implementation of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and questions the United Kingdom’s participation in the European Monetary System (EMS).
On 19 January 1990, Lamberto Dini, Director of the Bank of Italy and member of the Monetary Committee of the European Communities, raises the issue of monetary policy within the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), with particular emphasis on the role of the European System of Central Banks (ESCB).
On 18 June 1990, Jean-Jacques Rey, Director of the National Bank of Belgium (BNB), delivers a lecture to members of the non-governmental organisation Cercle Populaire Européen (European People’s Circle) in which he expresses his confidence in the success of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), whose first stage begins on 1 July 1990, while at the same time identifying the challenges to be overcome in this field by the Twelve.
On 18 April 1990, Emanuele Gazzo, Director of Agence Europe, sees the implementation of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) as the logical consequence of a federal European Union.
On 28 April 1990, the European Commission sends to the European Foreign Ministers a note on economic and monetary union (EMU) and on the implementation of a new monetary institution, EuroFed.
Following the Rome European Council which took place on 27 and 28 October 1990, the Heads of State and Government of the Twelve set the date for the start of the second stage of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) as 1 January 1994.
On 28 October 1990, following the Rome European Council, François Mitterrand, French President, holds a press conference during which he discusses, in particular, the launching of the second stage of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), the nature of the future single currency, the ecu and the number of countries eligible to participate in EMU.
On 28 October 1990, following the Rome European Council, Jacques Delors, President of the European Commission, outlines the prospects for and the implications of the gradual establishment of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).
Following the Rome European Council held on 27 and 28 October 1990, the Spanish cartoonist Alfredo comments on the opposition of Margaret Thatcher, British Prime Minister, to the setting of a timetable for economic and monetary union. At the meeting, Margaret Thatcher rejects the Spanish proposal to postpone the deadlines. In the cartoon, Felipe González, as a good Andalusian, launches his charm offensive with the Iron Lady, who remains impassive.
On 8 April 1991, in Luxembourg, the Interinstitutional Conference on Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) considers the implications and the progress of the establishment of EMU.
Le 24 avril 1992, Jean Krier, président de Association des banques et banquiers luxembourgeois (ABBL), décrit dans les colonnes de l'hebdomadaire luxembourgeois d'Lëtzebuerger Land les conséquences de l'Union économique et monétaire (UEM), avec l'introduction, à terme, de la monnaie unique, sur la place financière de Luxembourg.
On 6 October 1992, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe invites the Committee of Ministers of the Twenty-Seven to ensure that the decision taken by the Twelve to establish Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) does not have any negative consequences for European cohesion.
In September 1993, Ignacio Ramonet, leader-writer for the French monthly newspaper Le Monde Diplomatique, harshly criticises the dangers for the fight against unemployment and for economic development in Europe of maintaining the convergence criteria laid down by the Maastricht Treaty in order to prepare for the transition to the third stage of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).
In this interview, Jacques de Larosière, former Governor of the Bank of France, analyses the difficulties experienced by the European Monetary System during the monetary crisis of 1992–1993.
On 3 April 1993, as Europe faces a serious monetary crisis, the Swiss daily newspaper Neue Zürcher Zeitung speculates on the future of the Economic and Monetary Union provided for in the Maastricht Treaty.
In this interview, Alexandre Lamfalussy, General Manager of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) from 1985 to 1993 and President of the European Monetary Institute (EMI) from 1994 to 1997, describes the method employed by Jacques Delors, President of the European Commission from 1985 to 1994, to obtain the support of the Heads of Government of the main Member States — particularly the Federal Republic of Germany — so as to enable the introduction of a single European currency. He goes on to speak about the direct support offered by Helmut Kohl when Lamfalussy was President of the EMI.
On 28 May 1988, in an article in the German daily newspasper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Karl Otto Pöhl, President of the Bundesbank, sets out his views with regard to the establishment of a European monetary area.
On 30 May 1988, Karl Otto Pöhl, President of the Bundesbank, grants an interview to La Libre Belgique in which he considers the future of European monetary policy.
In May 1989, the economist Victor Manuel Riberio Constâncio, former Portuguese Finance Minister and former Secretary-General of the Portuguese Socialist Party, delivers an address in Lisbon to members of the Associação Promotora do Ensino dos Cegos (Teaching Promotional Association for the Blind — APEC) in which he reviews the origins and consequences of the introduction of the European Single Act and the modified European Monetary System (EMS).
On 2 November 1989, John Major, Chancellor of the Exchequer, gives an address in the House of Commons in which he sets out the United Kingdom’s position on Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).
On 27 June 1990, the British daily newspaper The Guardian speculates as to whether it is economically and politically feasible for the United Kingdom to participate in an economic and monetary union (EMU).
On 30 October 1990, two days after the end of the Rome European Summit, the French daily newspaper Le Monde analyses the hesitations of Margaret Thatcher, British Prime Minister, with regard to the timetable for Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).
On 21 November 1990, the Confederation of Employers and Industries of Spain (CEOE) gives its views on the implications of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).
On 5 December 1990, the French Council of Ministers notifies its support for the plan for Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and outlines the various stages leading thereto.
‘… only a few thousand days to go!’ In December 1991, the German cartoonist, Horst Haitzinger, illustrates the fears of many German people at the idea of having to abandon their national currency, the Deutschmark, for the single European currency.
‘Chancellor of European unity: Sacrifice for Europe ’91.’ In 1991, the cartoonist, Hanitzsch, illustrates the ulterior motive of the Federal Chancellor, Helmut Kohl, behind the abandonment of the national currency, the Deutschmark, in favour of the single European currency.
On 11 December 1991, during an interview granted to the French national television channel, Antenne 2, François Mitterrand, President of the French Republic, considers the implementation of a single European currency and outlines its various advantages.
On 24 January 1991, the Spanish Ministry of Economic Affairs forwards a note to Jacques Delors, President of the European Commission, regarding Spain’s position on the establishment of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).
In autumn 1990, the leader-writer of the federalist magazine L’Europe en Formation criticises the policy of Margaret Thatcher, British Prime Minister, with regard to Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).
On 25 May 1992, Helmut Kohl, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), delivers an address to the Association for the Monetary Union of Europe (AMUE) in which he emphasises the importance of achieving Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and outlines the links between the European integration process and German reunification.
On 4 November 1992, the special edition of the British daily newspaper Financial Times on Luxembourg includes an analysis of the impact of the Maastricht Treaty on the Luxembourg economy and public opinion.
In December 1992, in the Italian diplomatic journal Affari Esteri, Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, Deputy Director General of the Bank of Italy and former rapporteur for the Delors Committee on Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), outlines the origins and implications of EMU and considers its actual meaning for the Italian economy.
In this interview, Jacques de Larosière, former Governor of the Bank of France and former member of the committee chaired by Jacques Delors, President of the European Commission, which had the task of studying and proposing the practical stages leading to the gradual establishment of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), explains France's role in the European process of economic and monetary integration.