‘ECU. The famous double act. Schmidt: Careful, your hair’s tickling me!’ On 10 January 1979, cartoonist Pino Zac illustrates the efforts made by French President Valéry Giscard d’Estaing and Federal Chancellor Helmut Schmidt to establish a European Monetary System (EMS) and the European Currency Unit (ECU), a single, artificial currency whose value represents an average of the value of the European currencies. The purpose was to create an area of monetary stability in Europe, to avoid constant devaluations and to stimulate trade, growth and economic convergence.