5.2 The euro: a political project

The following quotes should dispel any doubts that the "euro" project is a political project, which involves a significant loss of national sovereignty.

"The fusion (of economic functions) would compel nations to fuse their sovereignty into that of a single European State."
Jean Monnet, founder of the European Movement, 3 April 1952.

"A European currency will lead to member nations transferring their sovereignty over financial and wage policy as well as monetary affairs. It is an illusion to think that states can hold on to their autonomy."
Hans Tietmeyer, President of the Bundesbank, 1991.

"A free trade zone - precisely what we have been trying to avoid for the last 25 years."
Yves-Thibault de Silguy, Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs, on the consequences of a delay in EMU, 1997.

"The single currency is the greatest abandonment of sovereignty since the foundation of the European Community...It is a decision of an essentially political nature. We need this United Europe...we must never forget that the euro is an instrument for this project."
Filipe Gonzales, former Spanish PM, May 1998.

"The process of monetary union goes hand in hand, must go hand in hand, with political integration and ultimately political union. EMU is, and always was meant to be, a stepping stone on the way to a united Europe."
Wim Duisenberg, ex-president, ECB.

"The euro is a conquest of sovereignty. It gives us a margin of manoeuvre. It's a tool to help us master globalisation and help us resist irrational shifts in the market."
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, French finance minister, January 1999.

"One must never forget that monetary union, which the two of us were the first to propose more than a decade ago, is ultimately a political project...Monetary union is a federative project that needs to be accompanied & followed by other steps."
Giscard d'Estaing and Helmut Schmidt, International Herald Tribune, 14 October 1997.

"The introduction of the euro is probably the most important integrating step since the beginning of the unification process. It is certain that the times of individual national efforts regarding employment policies, social and tax policies are definitely over. This will require us to finally bury some erroneous ideas of national sovereignty."
Gerhard Schröder, Chancellor of Germany, The Hague, 19 January 1999.

"The introduction of the common currency was in no way just an economic decision. Monetary Union is demanding that we Europeans press ahead resolutely with political integration."
Gerhard Schröder, 30 August 1999.

"We must now face the difficult task of moving towards a single economy, a single political entity...For the first time since the fall of the Roman Empire we have the opportunity to unite Europe."
Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission, European Parliament, 13 October 1999.

[Joining the euro] "...is fundamentally a political rather than an economic issue. It would involve ceding control over important aspects of public policy."
Sir Edward George, governor of the Bank of England, April 2000.

RL, February 2007