On 1 December 1966, Karl Schiller is appointed Minister for Economic Affairs of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). On 12 May 1971, he becomes Minister for Economic Affairs and Finance, a post from which he resigns on 7 July 1972.

On 8 May 1971, the French daily newspaper Le Monde sets out the comments of the European Commission about the plan devised by Karl Schiller, West German Minister for Economic Affairs, to allow the mark to float after it suffered speculative attacks.

On 9 May 1971, the Finance Ministers of the Six — on the left, Karl Schiller (Germany) and Valéry Giscard d’Estaing (France) — discuss the various means of ending the growing monetary instability in Europe.

On 10 May 1971, the Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera leads with the German decision to allow its national currency to ‘float' and displays anxiety about the consequences of a worsening international monetary crisis.

In einer am 11. Mai 1971 gehaltenen Rede verteidigt Karl Schiller, Bundesminister für Wirtschaft, die Freigabe des Wechselkurses der Deutschen Mark und erklärt die währungspolitischen Maßnahmen der Bundesregierung.

On 11 May 1971, while commenting on the decision, taken the previous day by the German Government, to allow the German mark to ‘float’, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, French Economy and Finance Minister and President-in-Office of the Ecofin Council, calls for more concerted monetary cooperation among the Six.

In June 1971, the monthly publication 30 jours d’Europe paints a portrait of Karl Schiller, appointed West German Minister for Economic Affairs and Finance one month earlier.

On 17 June 1971, the French daily newspaper Le Figaro harshly criticises the monetary policy of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and simultaneously deplores the attitude of Karl Schiller, West German Minister for Economic Affairs and Finance.

Am 19. Juni 1971 berichtet die Tageszeitung Süddeutsche Zeitung über die Zurückhaltung der europäischen Staaten gegenüber den Vorschlägen des deutschen Finanzminister Karl Schiller, der eine vereinbarte Wechselkursflexibilität der EWG-Währungen vorschlägt.

On 27 October 1971, the French daily newspaper Le Figaro describes the increasing differences of opinion between France and the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) with regard to economic and monetary policy.

In November 1971, the Italian daily newspaper Corriere della Sera reports on the growing tension between the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) and France over measures envisaged to combat the European monetary crisis.