| Mr President , ladies and gentlemen , Mr Karl von Wogau has known since 15 April that our group supported his excellent report and that consequently we approve of the Commission's recommendation which provides for the beginning of the third stage of EMU on 1 January 1999 with 11 Member States. Thus , without dwelling on this extremely interesting report , and after offering well - deserved congratulations to President Jacques Santer , Commissioner Yves Thibault de Silguy and all of the Commission , on behalf of the Union for Europe Group , I would like to return to the issue of the absolute necessity for the European Parliament to be closely involved in the European Central Bank's process of democratic accountability.The euro is the culmination of efforts undertaken since the appointment , by Antoine Pinay on 21 July 1952 , of Jean Monnet as the first President of the European Coal and Steel Community , the embryo of a Europe which has constantly improved over the years and whose culmination can be seen in the introduction of the single currency. But the end of this cycle is also a beginning. The single currency opens a new era in the monetary , economic and social policies of Europe. That is why our group has been requesting a new European economic order for a number of years , because with regard to overall economic and budgetary balances , nothing will be the same again.For this reason , I would like to highlight two extremely important facts regarding French policy towards the euro. Firstly , for twenty years there has been great continuity in this policy , which has always overshadowed partisan differences. Thus , whether by the adoption , in October 1986 , of the Single European Act or by the plea for ratification of the Treaty on European Union , through the referendum in September 1992 , the President of the French Republic , Jacques Chirac , has firmly committed France to the process of implementation of the single currency and , from my point of view , he will have given as much to Europe on this issue as many politicians who have now passed into posterity.This is why I am happy to propose that the House should make the French National Assembly's recommendation , made on 21 April of this year , its own. This recommendation was made at the request of Valéry Giscard - d'Estaing , himself a great European , for in June and July 1978 he played an essential role which is at the root of our reality today. He proposed , in fact , providing the Community authorities with a parliamentary committee on the euro , half of which would be composed of Members of the European Parliament and the other half composed of members of national parliaments , members of the finance committees in the member countries of the euro , appointed through proportional representation. This committee would give regular opinions on the directions of the European Central Bank's monetary policy and would thus successfully complement the triptych which has been behind the success of the construction of Europe. By this I mean : firstly , a high - level technical team responsible for implementing the common policy initiated by the Council of Ministers ; secondly , the specific case of Ecofin in its improved form , known as Euro X and whose composition is currently being formulated ; and thirdly , parliamentary control which , since the creation of the ECSC , has always enabled those elected by Europe's nations to be involved in European policy.This measure is essential in order that parliamentary representatives of the eleven European nations participating in the euro , along with their representatives - in Strasbourg as in Brussels - elected via universal suffrage to defend the point of view of the people of Europe , may be deeply involved in this historic act of the introduction of the euro. We will maintain price stability and we will maintain budget deficits within containable levels and I hope a balanced budget over the economic cycle | Herr Präsident , ich muß sagen , daß ich über die Äußerungen von Herrn Giansily zu den Vorschlägen von Herrn Giscard d'Estaing schon etwas überrascht bin. Ich habe von Herrn Giansily , der früher einmal Vorsitzender der Fraktion der Liberalen war , herzlich wenig gehört , seitdem er vor einigen Jahren politisches Asyl in der EVP - Fraktion gefunden hat. Ich freue mich , daß er noch unter uns weilt.In bezug auf das Thema , über das wir hier heute diskutieren , möchte ich sagen , daß wir vor einem Wochenende stehen , das von enormer Bedeutung für die Europäische Union ist. Wir stehen an der Schwelle zur Realisierung eines gemeinsamen politischen Ziels , nämlich der Einführung der Währungsunion. Ich stimme mit Herrn Donnelly dahingehend überein , daß die erreichte Konvergenz eine klare Bestätigung dessen ist , was politischer Wille und gemeinsamer politischer Wille zuwege bringen können.Nun , da wir vor der Umsetzung dieses unumkehrbaren Projektes stehen , ist es wichtig , sich darüber klar zu werden , welche Probleme noch gelöst werden müssen. Ich möchte hier ganz deutlich feststellen , daß die Fraktion der Liberalen nicht nur mit Bedauern , sondern mit wachsendem Unmut das Unvermögen des Rates zur Kenntnis nimmt , die Kontroversen um die Ernennung des Präsidenten für die künftige Europäische Zentralbank beizulegen. Der Vertrag ist hier eindeutig. Er legt die Bedingungen für die Ernennung des EZB - Präsidenten eindeutig fest. Auch die Amtszeit ist eindeutig auf acht Jahre festgelegt. Diese Bestimmungen aus politischen Gründen in Frage zu stellen , wäre ein sehr schlechter Start für dieses wichtige und unumkehrbare politische Projekt. Wir erwarten vom Rat , daß er Vertrauen in dieses System schafft , anstatt es zu unterminieren. Deshalb sollte der Rat am kommenden Wochenende eine klare politische Entscheidung im Hinblick auf die Amtszeit des EZB - Präsidenten treffen , die in Einklang mit den bestehenden Gesetzen und dem Vertrag steht. Dabei kann es nicht um Fragen des Nationalstolzes gehen. Denn worum es hier geht , ist die erfolgreiche Einführung der Währungsunion |
