Michael Noonan
Question:20 Mr. Noonan (Limerick East) asked the Minister for Finance if it is his intention to present a paper on Ireland's position on economic and monetary union to ECOFIN; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Ceisteanna — Questions. Oral Answers. - Economic and Monetary Union.
Joseph Doyle
Question:28 Mr. Doyle asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the fact that Spain and France have both tabled draft treaties governing the establishment of an economic and monetary union; if he will outline his views on the proposals made by these two countries; if he will further outline the proposals which have been tabled by other countries at the current Inter-Governmental Conference on this subject; whether Ireland will be tabling its own proposals; and, if so, when.
Godfrey Timmins
Question:40 Mr. Timmins asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the fact that Spain and France have both tabled draft treaties governing the establishment of an economic and monetary union; if he will outline his views on the proposals made by these two countries; if he will further outline the proposals which have been tabled by other countries at the current Inter-Governmental Conference on this subject; whether Ireland will be tabling its own proposals; and, if so, when.
Frank Crowley
Question:43 Mr. Crowley asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the fact that Spain and France have both tabled draft treaties governing the establishment of an economic and monetary union; if he will outline his views on the proposals made by these two countries; if he will further outline the proposals which have been tabled by other countries at the current Inter-Governmental Conference on this subject; whether Ireland will be tabling its own proposals; and, if so, when.
Donal Carey
Question:52 Mr. Carey asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the fact that Spain and France have both tabled draft treaties governing the establishment of an economic and monetary union; if he will outline his views or the proposals made by these two countries; if he will further outline the proposals which have been tabled by other countries at the current Inter-Governmental Conference on this subject; whether Ireland will be tabling its own proposals; and, if so, when.
Michael D. Higgins
Question:59 Mr. M. Higgins asked the Minister for Finance if Ireland has submitted a position paper outlining the concerns and priorities for the Government on the issue of EMU to the Inter-Governmental Conference; if the paper has been circulated to other member states; if it has been debated in whole or in part at the Inter-Governmental Conference; if he will arrange to have a copy placed in the Oireachtas Library; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Tomás MacGiolla
Question:64 Tomás Mac Giolla asked the Minister for Finance the latest position regarding proposals for monetary and economic union within the EC, and if he will make a statement on the matter.
John Bruton
Question:68 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Finance if Ireland has tabled any proposals as to the (1) Constitution, (2) powers and (3) representative character of the proposed European Central Bank.
Paul Bradford
Question:69 Mr. Bradford asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the fact that Spain and France have both tabled draft treaties governing the establishment of an economic and monetary union; if he will outline his views on the proposals made by these two countries; if he will further outline the proposals which have been tabled by other countries at the current Inter-Governmental Conference on this subject; whether Ireland will be tabling its own proposals; and, if so, when.
Gerry Reynolds
Question:73 Mr. G. Reynolds asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the fact that Spain and France have both tabled draft treaties governing the establishment of an economic and monetary union; if he will outline his views on the proposals made by these two countries; if he will further outline the proposals which have been tabled by other countries at the current Inter-Governmental Conference on this subject; whether Ireland will be tabling its own proposals; and, if so, when.
Jim Mitchell
Question:84 Mr. J. Mitchell asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the fact that Spain and France have both tabled draft treaties governing the establishment of an economic and monetary union; if he will outline his views on the proposals made by these two countries; if he will further outline the proposals which have been tabled by other countries at the current Inter-Governmental Conference on this subject; whether Ireland will be tabling its own proposals; and, if so, when.
Bernard J. Durkan
Question:89 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to the fact that Spain and France have both tabled draft treaties governing the establishment of an economic and monetary union; if he will outline his views on the proposals made by these two countries; if he will further outline the proposals which have been tabled by other countries at the current Inter-Governmental Conference on this subject; whether Ireland will be tabling its own proposals; and, if so, when.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 20, 28, 40, 43, 52, 59, 64, 68, 69, 73, 84 and 89 together.
Deputies will be aware that Stage 1 of Economic and Monetary Union began on 1 July 1990. That stage involves principally the completion of the internal market and closer Community co-ordination of economic and monetary policies.
The Inter-Governmental Conference on Economic and Monetary Union, which is to prepare the Treaty amendments necessary to allow the final stages of that union to come into effect, was formally convened on 15 December last. The conference opened against a background where a considerable amount of preparatory work had already been done and where a large majority of member states had reached broad agreement on a range of key issues. Already it is clear that this agreement is proving helpful to the negotiations.
At the moment, the conference meetings are taking place at two levels. Under the timetable drawn up by the Luxembourg Presidency, Finance Ministers are scheduled to meet at least once a month until the end of June. These meetings at ministerial level are being prepared by a group of personal representatives drawn primarily from Finance Ministries but also including officials from Departments of Foreign Affairs. Representatives from the central banks of member states also participate in an observer capacity.
The papers tabled by both Spain and France are but two of the several proposals for Treaty amendments which have been tabled by conference participants. Early last December, the Committee of Central Bank Governors made available the text of a draft Statute for a European System of Central Banks. Subsequently, the Commission produced a working document which contains comprehensive proposals for the Treaty revisions necessary to accomplish EMU. The UK have also tabled their proposals for the "Hard" ECU in a specific Treaty amendment format. Both the Spanish and UK papers are directed exclusively to the possible content of Stage 2 of Economic Monetary Union and do not, in so far as amendments are concerned, deal with the likely structure of the final stage.
In early January, Ireland tabled a paper which outlined our general position on a wide range of issues and which contained specific proposals for amendments to the cohesion provisions in the existing Treaty. Those amendments have also been tabled in the context of the political union conference. A copy of that paper will be placed in the Oireachtas Library so that Deputies may avail of the opportunity to examine it themselves.
Deputies will appreciate that I am constrained in my comments by the need to preserve the confidential nature of the conference discussions. However, I will say that all proposals for Treaty amendments do not take the form of completed Treaty texts. Many delegations, including ourselves, also avail of the option to propose specific amendments in the relevant areas of economic and monetary policy as the proceedings advance. Any proposals relating to the European Central Bank, a topic which has yet to be discussed by the conference, are likely to be made in that context.
All proposals which have been submitted to date will be considered at the appropriate time by the conference. To this end, the Presidency have adopted a very orderly method of approach which involves consideration of relevant Articles of the Treaty on a consecutive basis. This approach will, I feel sure, yield positive and tangible results.
(Limerick East): I would like to thank the Minister for his very full reply. The Minister referred to a paper which was submitted by the Irish Government in January. Would the Minister inform the House if this paper was presented by him to ECOFIN or is it in the form of a draft treaty which is being presented to the Inter Governmental Conference?
It is in general terms our opening position but it has been presented to the Inter-governmental Conference, not to ECOFIN.
(Limerick East): Will the Minister tell the House if it differs substantially from the Delors proposal?
I do not want to get into the details at this stage because it is our opening position. In general terms it covers the issue of economic and social cohesion which is extremely important as far as this country is concerned. It deals with monetary policy, views on the central bank, or some similar institution, unemployment in the transition period, co-ordination of economic and budgetary policies and all those areas. I would stress, however, that it is our opening position and we also have available to us the opportunity to put down amendments to other people's texts that have already been submitted to the conference.
(Limerick East): Do the Irish proposals envisage changes to the Treaty, and will the Minister tell us when these proposals will be available to the House? I understand from his reply that they were put forward sometime in early January and this is the first time we have been informed of that in this House.
I have already stated that I am making the text of this paper available in the Library of the Oireachtas.