'European Union View On Emu Rates Likely This Year'

European monetary affairs commissioner Yves Thibault de Silguy said on Thursday the European Commission might have a position later this year on the fixing of conversion rates for countries entering a single currency.

"We may have something to say on exchange rates during the Luxembourg presidency," De Silguy told a news conference. Luxembourg takes over the European Union presidency in July until December. De Silguy noted that a decision on the method by which national currencies would be converted into the Euro was formally not possible until the single currency is launched in 1999.

He acknowledged that to wait until then was not feasible. "You're not going to wait until the very last minute," he added.

 

De Silguy was responding to news reports earlier this week suggesting that Jean-Claude Juncker, Luxembourg's prime minister, would try to seek an agreement later this year on the method by which exchange rates would be converted.