Vol. 462 No. 8
74 Mr. E. Byrne asked the Minister for Finance if his attention has been drawn to remarks by Commissioner Neil Kinnock wherein he described the single currency timetable as unrealistic; his views on whether this statement reflects the views of the European Commission as a whole; the substantial progress, if any, made on outstanding issues at the recent Summit; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [18296/95]
I understand that the remarks attributed to Commissioner Kinnock in November 1995 were personal comments and were not intended to reflect the view of the European Commission. Indeed, at the time, the President of the Commission reaffirmed the Commission's view that establishment of the single currency by the planned date of 1 January 1999 was "desirable, necessary and possible".
The Deputy will recall that since Mr. Kinnock made his comments, the European Council meeting at Madrid in December 1995 reaffirmed the commencement date of 1 January 1999 for Stage Three of Economic and Monetary Union, adopted a reference scenario or plan for the transition to a single currency based on that commencement date and agreed that the new currency would be known as the Euro and that Euro notes and coins would be introduced by 1 January 2002 at the latest. The European Council also decided that the decision on which member states qualify would be taken as soon as possible in 1998 and be based on 1997 outturn figures. Preparations at European Union and national level are intensifying on the basis of the timescale set out in the reference scenario and I am satisfied that Economic and Monetary Union will proceed as planned.
