The collapse of the Bretton Woods System
The collapse of the Bretton Woods System
The collapse of the Bretton Woods system
Television interview with Willy Brandt (9 May 1971)
TextOn 9 May 1971, during a television interview, West German Chancellor Willy Brandt explains the reasons behind the German Government’s decision to allow the Deutschmark to float.
Statement made by Valery Giscard d'Estaing to the French National Assembly (12 May 1971)
TextOn 12 May 1971, in a statement to the French National Assembly, the French Economy and Finance Minister and President-in-Office of the Ecofin Council, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, reveals the measures proposed by France to combat the European monetary crisis.
The EEC faces up to the monetary crisis (20 July 1971)
BildOn 20 July 1971, less than a month before the unilateral decision by the United States to suspend the convertibility of the dollar into gold, the Council of Finance Ministers of the Six debates possibilities for resolving the international monetary crisis. Mario Ferrari Aggradi (left), Italian Treasury Minister, meets Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, French Economy and Finance Minister and President-in-Office of the Ecofin Council.
Richard Nixon
BildOn 15 August 1971, US President, Richard Nixon, passes the death sentence on the Bretton Woods international monetary system, by unilaterally suspending the convertibility of the dollar into gold.
'US leaders seem resigned to dollar devaluation', from Le Monde (17 August 1971)
TextOn 17 August 1971, the French daily newspaper Le Monde analyses the repercussions of the unilateral decision taken two days earlier by the US President, Richard Nixon, to suspend the convertibility of the dollar into gold.
'On the brink of monetary chaos', from Süddeutsche Zeitung (18 August 1971)
TextOn 18 August 1971, the German daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung reviews the economic and monetary implications of the decision taken by the United States, three days earlier, to suspend the convertibility of the dollar into gold.
Cartoon by Benedek on the collapse of the Bretton Woods System (20 August 1971)
Bild'The hour of the Europeans'. For the German cartoonist Gabor Benedek, American President Richard Nixon's decision to suspend the dollar's convertibility into gold is an incentive for the Member States of the European Communities to plan the introduction of a common monetary policy.
Letter from Franco Maria Malfatti to Pierre Werner (Brussels, 10 September 1971)
TextOn 10 September 1971, in the light of the US decision to suspend the dollar’s convertibility into gold, Franco Maria Malfatti, President of the Commission of the European Communities, sends a letter to Pierre Werner, President of the Luxembourg Government, in which he calls for a strengthening of the Community and the introduction of a genuine common monetary policy.
'Not just cosmetic changes to the old system', from the Süddeutsche Zeitung (11 September 1971)
TextOn 11 and 12 September 1971, the German daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung asks the German economist, Hans Möller, a supporter of a monetary system based on a fixed exchange rate policy, for his views on the collapse of the Bretton Woods system.
The Council’s view on the reform of the international monetary system (14 September 1971)
TextOn 14 September 1971, the Council of Ministers of the Six expresses its view on the reform of the international monetary system and calls for a realignment of all parities and for the abolition of the American surcharge.
Lettre de Emilio Colombo à Franco Maria Malfatti (Rome, 22 septembre 1971)
TextOn 22 September 1971, after the American decision to suspend the gold convertibility of the dollar, Emilio Colombo, President of the Council of Ministers in Italy, agrees with the words of Franco Maria Malfatti, President of the Commission of the European Communities, who wants the Six to make rapid progress on economic and monetary union.
Press conference given by Georges Pompidou at the Elysée (Paris, 25 September 1971)
TextOn 25 September 1971, French President, Georges Pompidou, holds a press conference during which he describes the causes of the European monetary crisis and proposes solutions to bring it to an end.
'The bankruptcy of the monetary system', from Le Monde (25 September 1971)
TextOn 25 September 1971, the French daily newspaper Le Monde reviews the impact of the decision taken six weeks earlier by the US President, Richard Nixon, to suspend the convertibility of the dollar in the light of economic policy.
Letter from Georges Pompidou to Franco Maria Malfatti (Paris, 27 October 1971)
TextOn 27 October 1971, in response to the US decision to suspend the dollar's convertibility to gold, French President Georges Pompidou replies to a letter from Franco Maria Malfatti, President of the Commission of the European Communities, and reaffirms his wish to see the Six adopt a truly Community attitude by putting aside their national differences on monetary policy.
'The conclusions of the "Ten"', from Corriere della Sera (2 December 1971)
TextOn 2 December 1971, the Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera analyses the difficult progress of the negotiations being conducted between the European Economic Community (EEC) and the United States with a view to resolving the international economic and monetary problems resulting from the collapse of the Bretton Woods system.
Communiqué from the 'Group of Ten' (Washington, 18 December 1971)
TextOn 18 December 1971, the 'Group of Ten' published a communiqué detailing the main monetary measures approved by the Ministers and the Governors of the Central Banks of the ten countries participating in the General Agreements to Borrow in Washington.
Interview with Valéry Giscard d’Estaing on ORTF (19 December 1971)
TextOn 19 December 1971, on his return from the 'Group of Ten' summit, French Economy and Finance Minister, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, during an interview with ORTF (French Radio and Television Office), gives his impressions of the outcomes of the Washington meeting.
Statement by Pierre Werner in the Chamber of Deputies (21 December 1971)
TextOn 21 December 1971, in an address in the Chamber of the Deputies, Luxembourg Finance Minister Pierre Werner sets out Luxembourg’s position concerning Washington’s recent decisions on international monetary matters.
The decisions of the Federal Republic of Germany (21 December 1971)
TextOn 21 December 1971, three days after the 'Group of Ten' meeting in Washington, West German Finance Minister, Karl Schiller, sets out the various monetary measures that the Federal Republic of Germany intends to implement.
Statement by Karl Schiller to the Bundestag on the international monetary crisis (19 January 1972)
TextOn 19 January 1972 in a speech to the Bundestag, West German Finance Minister, Karl Schiller, lists the main outcomes of the ‘Group of Ten’ Summit in Washington and outlines the FRG’s monetary policy.
Interview with Jacques de Larosière: the International Monetary System and the end of the Bretton Woods system (Paris, 22 May 2008)
TonIn this interview, Jacques de Larosière, former Head of Department in the French Ministry of the Economy and Finance, looks back at the end of the international monetary system, devised at Bretton Woods in 1944, following the United States’ decision in 1971 to uncouple the dollar from the value of gold.
Interview with Jacques de Larosière: France’s international and European monetary policy (Paris, 22 May 2008)
TonIn this interview, Jacques de Larosière, former Head of Department at the French Ministry of the Economy and Finance, discusses the principles which guided France's international and European monetary policy in the context of the end of the Bretton Woods system and the decoupling of the value of the dollar and the value of gold.