Preparatory work
The ‘Delors Committee’
Schlussfolgerungen des Europäischen Gipfels von Hannover: Jacques Delors et Helmut Kohl (Hannover, 28 Juni 1988)
VideoNach dem Europäischen Gipfel von Hannover vom 27. und 28. Juni 1988 geben der Präsident der Europäischen Kommission Jacques Delors und der deutsche Bundeskanzler und amtierende Ratsvorsitzende der Europäischen Gemeinschaften Helmut Kohl eine Pressekonferenz, auf der sie die Vorteile der Wirtschafts- und Währungsunion (WWU) darlegen und erläutern, wie sie diese Union erreichen wollen.
List of members of the Delors Committee
TabelleTable listing the members of the committee chaired by Jacques Delors, President of the European Commission, responsible for submitting and proposing practical steps leading towards gradual establishment of economic and monetary union (EMU).
Interview with Jacques Delors (Paris, 16 December 2009) — Excerpt: The work of the ‘Delors Committee' on EMU
VideoIn this interview excerpt, Jacques Delors, President of the Commission of the European Communities from 1985 to 1995, discusses the stages leading up to the publication of the ‘Delors Report', particularly mentioning the role of Pierre Werner, and describes the composition and work of the Committee of Governors, which he chaired, and which paved the way to the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) enshrined in the Maastricht Treaty.
Interview with Jacques de Larosière: the objectives of the Delors Committee (Paris, 22 May 2008)
TonIn this interview, Jacques de Larosière, former Governor of the Bank of France and former member of the committee chaired by Jacques Delors, President of the European Commission, which had the task of studying and proposing the practical stages leading to the gradual establishment of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), summarises the objectives of this committee.
Interview with Jacques de Larosière: the working method of the Delors Committee (Paris, 22 May 2008)
TonIn this interview, Jacques de Larosière, former Governor of the Banque de France and former member of the committee chaired by Jacques Delors, President of the European Commission, which was set up to examine and propose practical steps leading to the gradual establishment of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), discusses the working method used during the meetings of this committee.
Interview with Alexandre Lamfalussy: his role in the ‘Delors Committee’ and the attitude of the central bankers to EMU (Brussels, 18 March 2010)
VideoIn this interview, Alexandre Lamfalussy, General Manager of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) from 1985 to 1993 and President of the European Monetary Institute (EMI) from 1994 to 1997, explains the role that he played as a member of the ‘Delors Committee’, which was tasked in 1988 with studying and proposing concrete stages for the progressive realisation of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). He particularly focuses on the attitude of the various members of the ‘Delors Committee’ with regard to the chances of success for EMU, and describes the circumstances surrounding his appointment as President of the European Monetary Institute (EMI).
Jacques Delors, Memoirs
TextIn his memoirs, Jacques Delors, President of the European Commission between 1985 and 1995, discusses the establishment, the composition and the work of the Delors Committee which, on 12 April 1989, proposes to the Member States of the European Communities the creation of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) in three stages.
Press conference held by François Mitterrand at the end of the Madrid European Council (27 June 1989)
TextOn 27 June 1989, at the end of the Madrid European Council, François Mitterrand, President of the French Republic, answers journalists’ questions on the implementation of the first stage of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), scheduled for 1 July 1990, and on the convening of an Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) in preparation for the subsequent stages thereof.
Pressekonferenz von Felipe González Márquez und Jacques Delors nach dem Europäischen Rat von Madrid (27. Juni 1989)
VideoNach dem Europäischen Rat von Madrid erläutern Felipe Gonzalez Marquez, spanischer Ministerpräsident und amtierender Ratsvorsitzender der Europäischen Gemeinschaften, und Jacques Delors, Präsident der Europäischen Kommission, am 27. Juni 1989 die wichtigsten Punkte der drei Stufen, die schließlich zur Wirtschafts- und Währungsunion (WWU) führen sollen.
The ‘Guigou Committee’
Interview with Élisabeth Guigou (Paris, 29 September 2008) — Excerpt: the additional work carried out following the adoption of the Delors Report
VideoIn this interview, Élisabeth Guigou, Secretary-General of the Interministerial Committee for Questions on European Economic Cooperation (SGCI) from 1985 to 1990 and Policy Officer to the President of the French Republic, François Mitterrand, from 1988 to 1990, describes the additional work carried out after the submission of the Delors Report on the establishment of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) in 1989 and discusses the differences of opinion between France and Germany on this issue.
Note for the attention of Messrs J. Delors and H. Christophersen, DG II (Brussels, 15 September 1989)
TextDG ECFIN sends a note to the President and Vice-President of the Commission of the European Communities reporting the details of its meeting on 13 September 1989 with Mrs Elisabeth Guigou, president of the high-level group on Economic and Monetary Union.
Minutes of the meeting with the ad hoc EMU group, DG II (Paris, 25 September 1989)
TextDG ECFIN reports on its meeting of 25 September 1989 with the high-level group on Economic and Monetary Union on the basis of the draft paper drawn up on 23 September by the Presidency entitled ‘Main questions raised by the establishment of an EMU’.
Report on the main questions raised by the establishment of an EMU, Council Presidency (Brussels, 24 October 1989)
TextThe General Secretariat of the Council sends the Commission of the European Communities the report on the main questions raised by the establishment of an Economic and Monetary Union, drafted on 24 October 1989 by the Presidency in preparation for the meeting of the high-level group on EMU due to be held on 26 October in Brussels.
Conclusions of the Strasbourg European Council: extract concerning Economic and Monetary Union (8 and 9 December 1989)
TextOn 8 and 9 December 1989, during the Strasbourg European Council, the Heads of State or Government of the Twelve decide, in particular, that the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) on the final stages of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) will reconvene before the end of 1990.
The Committee of Governors of the Central Banks
"Die Europäische Zentralbank: eine Voraussetzung für die Währungsunion" in Echos de l'Europe (Januar-Februar 1989)
TextAuf dem Gipfel von Hannover am 27. und 28. Juni 1988 wird der Delors-Ausschuss damit beauftragt, die Stufen hin zu einer Wirtschafts- und Währungsunion zu entwerfen und Vorschläge zu unterbreiten. Die Einrichtung einer Europäischen Zentralbank ist eine notwendige Voraussetzung für das Erreichen einer solchen Union.
Council Decision amending Council Decision 64/300/EEC on cooperation between the central banks of the Member States of the European Economic Community (12 March 1990)
TextIn its decision of 12 March 1990, the Council broadens the mandate of the Committee of Governors of the Central Banks of the Member States of the European Communities, which was set up in 1964. In view of the realisation of the first stage of Economic and Monetary Union, the Committee will now particularly focus on strengthening the coordination of monetary policies and seeking greater convergence to ensure internal price stability, which is essential to the smooth operation of the European Monetary System (EMS).
Annual report of the Committee of Governors of the Central Banks on the first 18 months of stage 1 of EMU (April 1992)
TextIn April 1992, the Committee of Governors of the Central Banks publishes its first annual report on its activities and on the monetary and financial situation in the Community. It covers the first 18 months of the first stage of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), which started on 1 July 1990.
Annual report of the Committee of Governors of the Central Banks for the year 1992 (April 1993)
TextIn April 1993, the Committee of Governors of the Central Banks publishes its second annual report on its activities and on the monetary and financial situation in the Community in 1992. It highlights the turbulence in the exchange markets in the second half of 1992 and the consequences of the signing of the Maastricht Treaty in February 1992. It also reports on the establishment of the European Monetary Institute, which will take over the committee’s activities from 1993.