European Monetary Union: the history of development (part 5)
Organizational - until 31 December 1998, aims at completing the final stabilization of public finances and the legal and institutional framework for monetary union. Realizable - until 1 January 2003, the plan of the euro in cash and then cash in circulation countries - parties to the Agreement with full replacement of the single currency in the national currencies. In order to implement a plan towards the EMU, the European Monetary Institute in Frankfurt, operating from 1 January 1994, in 1998, was transformed into the European Central Bank (ECB). Specific action with respect to monetary and exchange rate policy: the session in Dublin in December 1996 agreed that the euro gets the status of official monetary unit of the participating countries rather than their national currencies. Accordingly, the euro converted all private and public assets and liabilities, while preserving for the subjects of management the payment terms of previous contracts. Translation of Euro amounts in national currencies is carried out with accuracy to six digits after the decimal point. Parity in the Euro conversion ECU is installed in a ratio of 1:1. Force preparation for the new currency in the participating countries, especially in the administrative bodies, banks and other financial institutions. But the whole economic life continues to exist on the basis of national currencies. Since the establishment of monetary union has required an urgent solution to the reform of European institutions and EU enlargement, in March 1996 in Turin, was the start of the Intergovernmental Conference on the revision of the entire "European design", including the Maastricht Treaty. As a result of its work in June 1997 at the Amsterdam summit, the EU had approved the main elements of the monetary policy of the EU, including the new exchange rate mechanism (IOC-2), the policy documents - "Agenda 2000'', which identifies key direction of the EU and its policies in the coming century, and the "Stability Pact and growth", thus opening the way for the introduction of the euro January 1, 1999 "Pact of Stability and Growth" for the first time impose penalties on Member States in case of violation of regulations of state budget. In accordance with this document, if the party above the EMU in the Maastricht Treaty limit of the budget deficit (3% of GDP), the European Union within three months of taking recommendations to the country. Over the next four months, these recommendations should be implemented, otherwise after a period of three months to the country narushitelnitse sanctions: free deposit in the amount of 0,2% of GDP plus 1 / 10 the difference between the actual budget deficit (% of GDP) and limits. In two years, if the situation does not improve, the deposit is automatically drawn to a fine. In October 1997, was signed the Treaty of Amsterdam, which became the next stage of actually turning the EU into the European organization. In late 1997, the Council of Ministers of Economy and Finance of the EU (Ecofin) approved a date for the introduction of cash in circulation euro banknotes and coins (1 January 2002) and the European Council decided to establish an important new institution of a monetary union - the Council of Ministers of Economy and Finance EMU (The Euro-11).
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