In this interview excerpt, Niels Thygesen, Head of Monetary Division and Studies at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris from 1971 to 1973, Adviser to the Governor of the Danmarks Nationalbank from 1973 to 1983 and Chairman of the Danish Economic Council from 1983 to 1985, discusses the main stages of his career during this period, emphasising his work within and alongside the various European central banks, especially with regard to the establishment of a monetary union in the European Economic Community.

In this interview excerpt, Niels Thygesen, Head of Monetary Division and Studies at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris from 1971 to 1973, Adviser to the Governor of the Danmarks Nationalbank from 1973 to 1983 and Chairman of the Danish Economic Council from 1983 to 1985, describes the economic and monetary upheavals at European and international level in the 1970s. He particularly discusses the end of the international monetary system, set up at Bretton Woods in 1944, following the United States’ decision in 1971 to untether the value of the US dollar from that of gold. He also mentions the creation and difficulties of the European currency snake, a system of intervention by the central banks within restricted fluctuation margins of 2.25 %.

In this interview excerpt, Niels Thygesen, Head of Monetary Division and Studies at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in Paris from 1971 to 1973, Adviser to the Governor of the Danmarks Nationalbank from 1973 to 1983 and Chairman of the Danish Economic Council from 1983 to 1985, discusses the creation and operation of the European Monetary System (EMS) from 1979 onwards, especially the introduction of the European Currency Unit (ECU). He also refers to the increasing interest among the Member States of the European Communities in the 1980s in progressing towards an economic and monetary union.

In this interview excerpt, Niels Thygesen, Adviser to the Governor of the Danmarks Nationalbank from 1973 to 1983, Chairman of the Danish Economic Council from 1983 to 1985 and a member of the Delors Committee set up to study and propose practical steps that would lead to the gradual establishment of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) from 1988 to 1989, outlines the strategy of the Danmarks Nationalbank in the early years of the European Monetary System (EMS). He also discusses Denmark’s position at the time regarding the possible establishment of an economic and monetary union.

In this interview excerpt, Niels Thygesen, Adviser to the Governor of the Danmarks Nationalbank from 1973 to 1983, Chairman of the Danish Economic Council from 1983 to 1985 and a member of the Delors Committee set up to study and propose practical steps that would lead to the gradual establishment of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) from 1988 to 1989, describes the reflections in the 1980s over the role of the dollar in the establishment of EMU.

In this interview excerpt, Niels Thygesen, Adviser to the Governor of the Danmarks Nationalbank from 1973 to 1983, Chairman of the Danish Economic Council from 1983 to 1985 and a member of the Delors Committee set up to study and propose practical steps that would lead to the gradual establishment of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) from 1988 to 1989, discusses reactions in Denmark to various key events in the European integration process in the early 1980s: the Genscher-Colombo initiative, the Spinelli Report, and the British rebate and the Fontainebleau European Council.

In this interview excerpt, Niels Thygesen, Adviser to the Governor of the Danmarks Nationalbank from 1973 to 1983, Chairman of the Danish Economic Council from 1983 to 1985 and a member of the Delors Committee set up to study and propose practical steps that would lead to the gradual establishment of Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) from 1988 to 1989, explains Denmark’s position on the Single European Act, which the country accepted in a referendum on 26 February 1986.