Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-01-16-Speech-3-135"
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"en.20020116.10.3-135"2
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"Mr President, the launch of the notes and coins has finally made the euro a political reality for the 300 million people of Euroland. Coming from a country which is out, and a party which opposes joining, I was half expecting more glitches and popular resentment at the imposition of an unfamiliar currency. So far so good, with little inflationary rounding-up. I congratulate the ECB, the Commission and the national central banks on their handling of the logistics of this massive undertaking without any upsurge in armed robbery or counterfeiting, although I still question the need for a EUR 500 note which can only facilitate criminality.
The naturally cautious British Conservative position is that, although the euro may be an added convenience to travellers and improve price transparency in the single market, it is undoubtedly intended primarily to bolster pan-European identity as a stepping stone to further political integration – something admitted to by everybody bar Mr Blair and our Labour Government – and to control not only of monetary policy, but also of taxation.
The "one size fits all" monetary policy, as the Commission's pessimistic 2001 economic report admits, cannot be right for all of the countries all of the time and, coupled with the fiscal restraints of the Stability and Growth Pact, imposes severe destabilising problems and a lack of flexibility on certain economies, as we have already seen in the artificial boom scenario of Ireland. The risks of an asymmetric shock developing will only get bigger after enlargement as European labour markets remain unreformed and largely immobile. President Prodi has admitted this inherent risk and the call will come very shortly for a much bigger EU budget and direct EU taxes to set up bail-out funds to compensate affected countries for their loss of rights to devalue their currencies or lower their interest rates. Nevertheless, I wish the euro well as the currency of our major trading partners, since UK prosperity is also affected by its stability.
I hope that my pessimistic prognosis, which echoes that of the Commission's own, proves to be wrong over time. I would also like confirmation from Commissioner Solbes that, in his opinion, for the UK to join the euro it will have to spend at least two years locked into the ERM II phase first before proceeding. Finally, I should like to congratulate you, Mr President, on your election."@en1
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