No Special Status For Germany In Emu: Gaddum
Countries hoping to qualify for a European single currency must be judged equally and there should be no special treatment for Germany, Bundesbank vice president Johann Wilhelm Gaddum said on Saturday.
Gaddum, attending a conference at this northern Italian lakeside resort, said: If we get a political decision in the spring of next year, there must be the same judgement on all members of the (Maastricht) Treaty. That means also (on) my own country.
He told a news conference the decision over who would join would be a political decision accompanied by economic rules.
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There must be a quorum of politicians who agree to entering the train of monetary union. Therefore I don't want to have special rights for Germany, he added.
In order to join economic and monetary union (Emu) by its projected January 1999 start, aspiring member nations must fulfil tough economic targets on deficit, debt and inflation levels by the end of 1997. The decision as to who will take part will then be made early in 1998. Gaddum said the economic criteria in the Maastricht Treaty on Emu had wrought a change in the budgetary philosophy of European member states which he said was progress.
But this process doesn't end with the end of 1997 or 1998. We must regard this also in political institutes, that this philosophy on budgets is one we need in the future if we are living together in monetary union, Gaddum said.
There's no way you can bring nice figures at the end of this year in the hope that we can start a year later with the Dolce Vita, he said, adding this was a concept which also had to be transmitted to ordinary Europeans.
Monetary union is not a final point but a starting point. If you start, it must be a success, he said.
Asked if both Italy and Germany would be allowed to join Emu if they both arrived at the year end with a budget deficit a fraction above the three per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) threshold required, he replied the question of sustainability would then apply.
The treaty talks about a sustainable situation. It's not only a question of the figures of one year, he said.
Italy is striving hard to lop its budget deficit down to 3 per cent of GDP from last year's 6.8 per cent in order to be a founding Emu member.