Monetary Law Blog

Historical political documentation

The following links refer to overviews of historical documentation.

1929 – 1967
The idea of a common currency in Europe

1968 – 1969
Run-up to the Barre Plan

1969 – 1970
Preparing the Den Haag summit

1970 – 1970
The Commission's mandate to draw up the first plan for EMU

1970 – 1970
Preparing the Werner Report

1971 – 1973
The need for a European Monetary System

1973 – 1975
The period of discussion about the European unit of account

1975 – 1977
Period of intensive studies

1977 – 1978
Revival of the idea of EMU

1978 – 1978
The need to coordinate economic policies

1978 – 1988
Discussions about the European Monetary System

1981 – 1988
The ECU at the centre of discussion

1989 – 1991
Run-up to the Maastricht Treaty

Source: European Union

Towards EMU: chronology of decisions

This chronology shows relevant major events, decisions, recommendations or declarations which led to the creation of a single currency in Europe.

1960 – 1969

Run-up to the Barre Plan

1969 – 1971

The first plans by stages to create an economic and monetary union

1971 – 1975

From the floating US-Dollar to the European Monetary System

 

1975 – 1980

The need to coordinate economic policies

 

1980 – 1988

The ECU in the centre of discussion

1988 – 1991

The run-up to the Maastricht Treaty

 

1992 – 1993
Work within the first phase of EMU

 

1994 – 1998

Work within the second phase of EMU

 

1999 – 2000

The start of the euro area ("EUR11")

 

2001 – 2002

The realisation of the third phase and enlargement of the euro area ("EUR12")

 

Source: European Union

Historical legal documentation

Former legal reference texts on EMU and euro.

 

1974 – Compendium of Community Monetary Texts (2.4 MB)

 

1976 – Compendium of Community Monetary Texts (1.4 MB)

 

1979 – Compendium of Community Monetary Texts (2.7 MB)

 

1986 – Compendium of Community Monetary Texts (2.2 MB)

 

1989 – Compendium of Community Monetary Texts (3.9 MB)

 

1994 – Compendium of Community Monetary Texts (2.8 MB)

 

1997 – The Introduction of the euro (2.6 MB)

1999 – Community legal and political texts on euro and economic policy (0.5 MB)

1999 – Community legislation on EMU

2007 – Compendium - Economic and monetary union. Legal and political texts (2.66 MB)

 

Source: European Union

 

The ECB published “Compendium – Collection of Legal Instruments”

·       1999 (June 98 – May 99 2.2 MB) and

·       2002 (June 98 – December 02 9.3 MB).

Source: Banco de Portugal

Find EU law

Official Journal of the European Union

EUR-Lex offers direct, easy access free of charge to the biggest documentary holdings existing on EU law.

OEIL consists of a series of procedural files listing all the documents and key events relating to a given procedure and the players involved at each stage.

Pre-Lex monitors the decision-making process between institutions.

Preparatory documents corresponding to the various stages of the legislative or budgetary process. They include Commission legislative proposals, Council common positions, legislative and budgetary resolutions and initiatives of the European Parliament, and opinions of the European Economic and Social Committee and of the Committee of the Regions, etc.

Treaties: EC, EU, Nice, Constitution, founding treaties, accession treaties, etc.

Case law

Legislation in force

Directory of Community legislation (website European Union)

Chapter 1.40 covers provisions governing the ECB, EMI and ESCB.

 

Chapter 10 covers Economic and Monetary Policy and Free Movement of Capital. A print version of chapter 10 is also available (PDF file, 0.3 MB).

 

Chapter 19 covers the area of freedom, security and justice. Here legal acts on the protection of the euro against counterfeiting can be found.

 

Where possible the Directory gives access to consolidated versions.

In 2007 the Council and the Commission also published a Compendium - Economic and monetary union. Legal and political texts (2.66 MB)

 

Website ECB

 

Legal instruments adopted by the ECB decision-making bodies can be found under the heading “legal framework”. It is possible to list the legal instruments by activity.

 

It is possible to download the published booklet entitled “Institutional Provisions” (PDF file, 0.4 MB).

 

The ECB published “Compendium – Collection of Legal Instruments” in 1999 (June 98 – May 99, PDF file, 2.2 MB) and 2002 (June 98 – December 02, PDF file, 9.3 MB).

What's new

4 August 2005
Added: Bloghood (with blogs you might find interesting).

1 August 2005
Added: the Reading Room.

30 July 2005
Added: Yahoo! Search and Google Search this site (and the Web).

29 July 2005
Added: subscription buttons for RSS news aggregators (such as Newsgator, MyYahoo, Bloglines and Feedster).

27 June 2005
Added: links to people relevant for EMU.

27 June 2005
Updated: biography.

18 June 2005
Added: German titles to the bookstore.

12 June 2005
Added: The Bookstore (trial version).

11 June 2005
Updated: biography – a (short) list of my publications.

Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN)

ECOFIN is composed of the Economics and Finance Ministers of the Member States, as well as Budget Ministers when budgetary issues are discussed.

 

ECOFIN covers EU policy in a number of areas including: economic policy coordination, economic surveillance, monitoring of Member States' budgetary policy and public finances, the euro (legal, practical and international aspects), financial markets and capital movements and economic relations with third countries.

 

The Eurogroup, composed of the Member States whose currency is the euro, meets normally the day before the ECOFIN meeting and deals with issues relating to the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). It is an informal body which is not a configuration of the Council.

 

When ECOFIN examines dossiers related to the euro and EMU, the representatives of the Member States whose currency is not the euro do not take part in the vote of the Council.

 

Read more on the ECOFIN Council website.

See also the EU Presidencies.

EMU - officials

Pervenche Berès

Chairwomen of the European Parliament Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs

 

Jean-Claude Juncker (Mr. Euro)

Semi-permanent president of the Eurogroup and the Economic and Financial Affairs Council

 

Joaquín Almunia

Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs

 

Jean-Claude Trichet

President of the ECB

 

Antonio Sáinz de Vicuña

General Counsel of the ECB and Chairman of the Legal Committee of the ESCB

EMU - legal scholars

coming soon

EMU - historic figures

Jean Monnet

Jean Monnet is regarded by many as the architect of the European unity.

 

Robert Schuman

On 9 May 1950 Robert Schuman invited Germany to jointly manage their coal and steel industries. This formed the basis of the European Coal and Steel Community, which eventually evolved into the European Union.

 

Pierre Werner

In 1960 Werner, who was then Prime Minister of Luxembourg, first advocated a European currency – the ‘euror’ – in a speech at Strasbourg. The first plan for monetary union (adopted in 1971) was named after Werner (the Werner Report).

 

Raymond Barre

As Vice-President of the Commission (1967-1972) Barre initiated the plan on economic and monetary union (the Barre Plan).

 

Jacques Delors

As President of the Commission (1985-1995) Delors chaired the Committee of European Central Bank Governors which proposed that economic and monetary union should be achieved in three evolutionary steps (the Delors Report).

 

Alexandre Lamfalussy

First and only president of the European Monetary Institute, precursor of the European Central Bank.

 

Willem Duisenberg

First president of the European Central Bank.