History of European monetary union

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ART
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History of European monetary union

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Situation:
After the Second World War the economies of European states are partially destroyed and the main European currencies are pegged to a fixed exchange rate to the US Dollar.

1950

Foundation of EPU (European Payments Union) with the contemporary creation of the EUA (European Unit of Account), originally proposed as "Epunit", scriptural currency with a gold standard of 0.888671 grams, equal to the US Dollar.

1960

November - Pierre Werner, premier of Luxembourg, proposes the establishment of a European unit of account called "Euror."

1961

The Committee for the United States of Europe (also called Monnet Committee, because formed in October 1955 by Jean Monnet) aims to create a European Union of Monetary Reserves, as a first step towards a European currency.

1962

The Marjolin Memorandum proposes a form of monetary union to be implemented through fixed exchange rates between the currencies of the EEC.

1966

November - Dichgans Report on the creation of European monetary union.

1969

December - The Heads of State and Government of the EEC discuss some plans for the establishment of a monetary union by 1977 or about 1978, and they envisages the establishment of a European Reserve Fund.

1970

October - Presented the Werner Report on the implementation phases of the monetary union. The project involved the establishment of a single currency on December 31, 1980.

Scans of the original document:

English
http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/emu ... ystage.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

French
http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/emu ... ecomon.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

German
http://ec.europa.eu/archives/emu_histor ... severw.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Dutch
http://ec.europa.eu/archives/emu_histor ... nlikin.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

1972

The MFE (a local section of European Union of Federalists) launch the "Campaign for the single European currency."

April - Birth of the "Snake", agreement for the adjustment of exchange rates between Belgium, France, Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.

October - The Paris European Council confirms its objective of monetary union brought to Den Haag.

1975

March - The EUA (European Unit of Account) is structured as a basket of fixed amounts of currencies of the 9 states in EEC at that time.

November - All Saints' Day Manifesto of the European monetary union, published in "The Economist" and signed by nine economists, contains the proposed creation of a parallel currency.

1977

October - Speech by R. Jenkins (President of the Commission) in Florence in which he proposes to recovery the project of monetary union.

1978

April - At the Copenhagen European Council, Giscard d'Estaing and Schmidt propose the creation of the EMS (European Monetary System).

December - The Bruxelles European Council establishing EMS.

1979

March - EMS enter into function, attended by Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and Italy. The value and the composition are initially equal to those of the EUA and since January 1981 the ECU will replace the EUA as a unit of account in the financial community.

1984

February - European Parliament approved the draft of the Treaty of European Union established by Spinelli Commission, who among other things raises the monetary union project.

1986

December - Formation of the Committee for the Monetary Union of Europe (Committee Giscard d'Estaing-Schmidt).

1988

March - Presentation of the propose of monetary union by the Committee Giscard d'Estaing-Schmidt

June - The Hannover European Council, chaired by J. Delors, establishing a committee to study and propose concrete steps towards monetary union.

1989

April
- Presentation of the Delors Report.

June - The Madrid European Council decides the start of the first stage of monetary union in accordance with the guidelines outlined in the Delors Report.

1990

April - Joint letter from Kohl and Mitterrand to the other heads of state and government that aims to speed up the process and a timetable for the Intergovernmental Conference on monetary union.

November - Draft Statute of the ESCB (European System of Central Banks) and the ECB.

December - Opens in Rome the Intergovernmental Conference for the monetary union.

1991

December - End of the Intergovernmental Conference on monetary union.

December - The Maastricht European Council will take the final arrangements for the monetary union treaty and it was decided that the transition to the third stage of monetary union, with the introduction of the Euro, must take place no later than January 1, 1999.

1992

February - Signing of the Treaty of Maastricht.

1994

January - Birth of the EMI (European Monetary Institute), the forerunner of the ECB.

1999

The first of January the Euro became in effect the single currency. The rate on his first day of life is to 1.1667 against the Dollar. Old coins and banknotes still in circulation until 2002 no longer represent the former currencies of the states, they kept as a non-centesimal fractions of the Euro.
European soul, European pride.
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