In this interview excerpt, Bernard Snoy et d’Oppuers, Economic Adviser in the Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs at the Commission of the European Communities from 1986 to 1988, describes the circumstances in which he was appointed to this position and the main people he worked with, including Jérôme Vignon, Pascal Lamy, Massimo Russo and Jean-Paul Mingasson.

In this interview excerpt, Bernard Snoy et d’Oppuers, Economic Adviser in the Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs at the Commission of the European Communities from 1986 to 1988, describes what he saw as the limitations of the European Monetary System (EMS) and why the transition to Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) in the 1990s was necessary.