In preparation for the preliminary meeting of the Werner Committee on 11 March 1970, the chairman of the working group, Pierre Werner, Luxembourg Prime Minister, Finance Minister and Minister of State, speculates on the establishment of an economic and monetary union and draws up a comparison between the different plans put forward, particularly the Schiller Plan (the German plan) and the Snoy Plan (the Belgian plan).

Documentation dating from 29 January 1970 used by the experts in the Werner Committee for the drafting of a plan by stages for an economic and monetary union.

On 27 February 1970, the Commission of the European Communities sets out some guidelines on the development of a plan by stages for an economic and monetary union.

On 5 March 1970, highlighting the differences of opinion between economists and monetarists, the German Embassy in Luxembourg describes the critical remarks made by Pierre Werner, Luxembourg Prime Minister and chairman of the ad hoc group, with regard to the German plan for an economic and monetary union.

On 16 March 1970, Georges Morelli, Secretary of the Werner Committee, sends an invitation to the group’s members to attend the first meeting, to be held on 20 March 1970 and chaired by Pierre Werner, Prime Minister and Finance Minister of Luxembourg.

On 23 March 1970, Hans Tietmeyer, an official in the German Ministry of the Economy and alternate member of the Werner Group, drafts an internal report on the first meeting of the Werner Group, which was held on 20 March 1970 in Luxembourg.

On 3 April 1970, in preparation for the second meeting of the Werner Committee to be held on 7 April 1970, the interdepartmental working group drafts a confidential note on the state of economic and monetary union following the plan by stages.

On 3 April 1970, G. Brouwers, Chairman of the Conjunctural Policy Committee, drafts a confidential note on the method for achieving an economic and monetary union, seen from the perspective of conjunctural policy.

On 6 April 1970, Johann-Baptist Schöllhorn, Chairman of the Medium-Term Economic Policy Committee, drafts a confidential note on the theme of economic union as the basis of monetary union.

On 7 April 1970, Gaetano Stammati, Chairman of the Budgetary Policy Committee, drafts a confidential note on the establishment by stages of an economic and monetary union.

Working documents from the second meeting of the Werner Group on 7 April 1970 in Brussels, including a letter of invitation, an agenda and the minutes of the first meeting, held on 20 March 1970 in Luxembourg.

On 9 April 1970, Hans Tietmeyer, an official in the German Ministry of the Economy and alternate member of the Werner Group, drafts an internal report on the second meeting of the Werner Group, which was held on 7 April 1970 in Brussels.

On 10 April 1970, Bernard Clappier, Chairman of the Monetary Committee, drafts a confidential note on the joint action required in the monetary sphere during the first stage of European unification.

On 21 April 1970, in preparation for the third meeting of the Werner Group — the group of experts on the achievement by stages of an economic and monetary union — due to be held on 30 April 1970, a note summarising the discussions of the first two meetings is sent to the members.

On 22 June 1970, Baron Hubert Ansiaux, Governor of the National Bank of Belgium, sends a document to Luxembourg Prime Minister Pierre Werner on the legal and technical aspects involved in pooling special drawing rights in which he raises the question of SDR transfers between the EEC partners. This document served as a basis for reflection for the Werner Committee.

On 24 April 1970, in anticipation of the forthcoming meeting of the Werner Group, Hubert Ansiaux, Governor of the National Bank of Belgium, sends a technical note to Pierre Werner, Luxembourg Prime Minister and Finance Minister, on the workings of a European exchange regulation fund.

German note dated 27 April 1970 on the progress of the work of the ad hoc group tasked with the drafting of a plan by stages for an economic and monetary union.

Working documents from the third meeting of the Werner Group on 30 April 1970 in Rome, including a letter of invitation, an agenda and the minutes of the second meeting, held on 7 April 1970 in Brussels.

On 4 May 1970, Hans Tietmeyer, an official in the German Ministry of the Economy and alternate member of the Werner Group, drafts an internal report on the third meeting of the Werner Group, which was held on 30 April in Rome.

On 11 May 1970, Jacques Mertens de Wilmars, chairman of the meetings of the group of experts on 6 and 8 May 1970, submits to the secretariat of the Werner Group a draft report to the Council and the Commission on the establishment by stages of economic and monetary union.

Working documents from the fourth meeting of the Werner Group on 14 May 1970 in Kirchberg, Luxembourg, including a letter of invitation, an agenda and the minutes of the third meeting, held on 30 April 1970 in Rome.

On 14 May 1970, Otmar Emminger, Deputy President of the Bundesbank, gives his views on the proposal by Hubert Ansiaux, Chairman of the Committee of Governors of the Central Banks and member of the Werner Group, to establish an exchange equalisation fund within the European Community.

On 14 May 1970, the Werner Group drafts a conclusion for the interim report to the Council and the Commission on the achievement by stages of economic and monetary union.

On 15 May 1970, in view of the fact that Mr G Brouwers, Dutch Chairman of the Conjunctural Policy Committee, did not lend his support to the proposal to establish a ‘European Exchange Equalisation Fund’ during the first stage of the Werner Plan, Baron Jean-Charles Snoy et d’Oppuers, Belgian Finance Minister, sends a letter to his counterpart in the Netherlands, Hendrikus Johannes Witteveen, in which he asks the Netherlands Government to support this plan.

On 15 May 1970, in view of the fact that Johann-Baptist Schöllhorn, German Chairman of the Medium-Term Economic Policy Committee, did not lend his support to the proposal to establish a ‘European Exchange Equalisation Fund’ during the first stage of the Werner Plan, Belgian Prime Minister Gaston Eyskens sends a letter to Willy Brandt, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), in which he asks the German Government to support this plan.

The Werner Group drafts a first version of the interim report to the Council and the Commission on the establishment by stages of economic and monetary union.

On 15 May 1970, the Werner Group drafts an interim report to the Council and the Commission on the achievement by stages of economic and monetary union.

On 19 May 1970, the Werner Group drafts an interim report to the Council and the Commission on the achievement by stages of economic and monetary union.

On 20 May 1970, at the fifth meeting of the Werner Committee to discuss the interim report, Pierre Werner drafts a handwritten note as a basis for securing a compromise between the various representatives. In this document, he summarises the points of agreement between the members of the Werner Committee, highlighting some arguments or avenues in which the work could be taken further, and adds his own proposals. These include the irrevocability of parities between the European currencies, which basically amounts to a single Community currency regime with nuances regarding external monetary policy.

On 20 May 1970, at the fifth meeting of the Werner Committee to discuss the interim report, Pierre Werner drafts a handwritten note as a basis for securing a compromise between the various representatives. In this document, he summarises the points of agreement between the members of the Werner Committee, highlighting some arguments or avenues in which the work could be taken further, and adds his own proposals. These include the irrevocability of parities between the European currencies, which basically amounts to a single Community currency regime with nuances regarding external monetary policy.

In this interim report to the Council and the Commission on the achievement by stages of economic and monetary union, dated 20 May 1970, the group chaired by Luxembourger Pierre Werner attempts to identify the main options relating to this plan.

On 25 May 1970, Gaetano Stammati, Chairman of the Budgetary Policy Committee, sends a letter to Pierre Werner, Luxembourg Minister of State, Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, in which he shares his observations concerning the interim report to the Council and the Commission on the achievement by stages of economic and monetary union.

In a dispatch dated 25 May 1970, Hans Tietmeyer addresses the Werner Group on behalf of German State Secretary Johann-Baptist Schöllhorn to indicate that the German version of the interim report is not in line with the decisions taken at the most recent meeting in Luxembourg.

On 26 May 1970, Jean Monnet, President of the Action Committee for the United States of Europe (ACUSE), sends a letter to Pierre Werner, Luxembourg Minister of State, Prime Minister and Minister for Finance, in which he shares his observations concerning the interim report to the Council and the Commission on the achievement by stages of economic and monetary union.

In this interim report to the Council and the Commission dated 23 July 1970 on the establishment by stages of economic and monetary union, the group chaired by the Luxembourger Pierre Werner seeks to identify the main options guiding its work.

On 29 May 1970, the European Finance Ministers meet in Venice to debate the interim report on the establishment by stages of an economic and monetary union. This draft summary report shows that the discussions were very lively and often characterised by disagreement.

Statement made by Karl Schiller, German Minister for the Economy, at the Conference of the Economic and Finance Ministers of the European Communities in Venice on 29 and 30 May 1970, concerning the interim report drafted by the ad hoc group.

Notes taken by Pierre Werner, Luxembourg Minister of State, President of the Government and Finance Minister, at the Conference of European Finance Ministers in Venice on 29 and 30 May 1970.

With this note drafted by a member of the German delegation, the Foreign Ministry and Ministry of the Economy of the Federal Republic of Germany are informed in detail of the conclusions of the 35th meeting of EEC Economic and Finance Ministers, held on 29 and 30 May 1970 in Venice to examine the discussions on the interim Werner Report and the areas in which the Werner Committee will be furthering its work in order to draw up a final report.

Thematic proposals by Pierre Werner on the extension of the work of the Werner Group, which has been tasked with drafting a report on the gradual establishment of economic and monetary union in the European Community.

After the Conference of European Finance Ministers in Venice on 29 and 30 May 1970, the Werner Group is required to further its work. Four main focus areas are chosen: the institutional field, the strengthening of the coordination of economic policies, budgetary and monetary policy and the exchange regime.

On 1 June 1970, Hans Tietmeyer, an official in the German Ministry of the Economy and alternate member of the Werner Group, submits a report to Johann-Baptist Schöllhorn, State Secretary in the German Ministry of the Economy, on the conclusions of the Conference of Economic and Finance Ministers held in Venice on 29 and 30 May 1970, at which the ministers debated the plan by stages for an economic and monetary union.

On 8 June 1970, Otmar Emminger, Deputy President of the Bundesbank, informs Johann-Baptist Schöllhorn, State Secretary in the Ministry of the Economy of the Federal Republic of Germany, of a meeting that he had with Jelle Zijlstra, President of the Nederlandsche Bank. He sets out several important points that need to be addressed within the ad hoc group for the establishment of an economic and monetary union, particularly the coordination of budgetary policies in the European Community.

Notes by Pierre Werner in preparation for his address at the EEC Council of Ministers on 8 and 9 June 1970 in Luxembourg. The Luxembourg Minister of State, President of the Government and Finance Minister analyses the interim report on the establishment by stages of an economic and monetary union and emphasises the need to further the work.

Notes by Pierre Werner, Luxembourg Minister of State, President of the Government and Finance Minister, on the meeting of the Council of Ministers held on 8 and 9 June 1970 in Luxembourg.

At its sessions of 8 and 9 June 1970, the Council of the European Communities reaffirms its determination to achieve economic and monetary union and approves the continuation of the work of the Werner Committee on the basis of the interim report.

On 16 June 1970, Baron Hubert Ansiaux, Belgian Chairman of the Committee of Governors of the Central Banks of the EEC Member States, gives a positive reply to Pierre Werner’s request and undertakes to provide an opinion from the Committee of Governors by 15 July on the advisability of harmonising monetary policy instruments and effectively tightening monetary policies in the Member States.

On 23 June 1970, Baron Hubert Ansiaux, Governor of the National Bank of Belgium, Chairman of the Committee of Governors of the Central Banks of the EEC Member States and member of the Werner Committee, writes to his friend Robert Triffin, a Professor at Berkeley College and close associate of Jean Monnet on the Action Committee for the United States of Europe, to inform him and to ask for his support on the question of making progress in the monetary field without prior convergence of economic policies, given the hostility of the German and Dutch representatives in the discussions of the Werner Committee.

On 3 July 1970, the secretariat of the Werner Committee (the ‘plan by stages’ group) publishes a note on strengthening the coordination of economic policies during the first stage of economic and monetary union.

Working documents from the seventh meeting of the Werner Group on 7 July 1970 in Paris, including a letter of invitation, an agenda and the minutes of the sixth meeting, held on 24 June 1970 in Luxembourg.

On 8 July 1970, Hans Tietmeyer, an official in the German Ministry of the Economy and alternate member of the Werner Group, drafts a note on the seventh meeting of the Werner Group, which was held on 7 July 1970 in Paris.

On 6 July 1970, Georges Morelli, Deputy Secretary General of the Werner Group, informs Johann-Baptist Schöllhorn, State Secretary in the German Ministry of the Economy, of the proposals by Gaetano Stammati, Chairman of the Budgetary Policy Committee and member of the Werner Group, concerning the first stage of the plan for an economic and monetary union and particularly focusing on stepping up coordination of budgetary policy.

On 13 July 1970, the secretariat of the ‘Plan by stages’ group publishes a note on improving the coordination of economic policies during the first stage of economic and monetary union.

Pierre Werner’s observations concerning the note issued on 13 July 1970 by the secretariat of the ‘Plan by stages’ group on improving the coordination of economic policies during the first stage of economic and monetary union.

On 22 July 1970, in preparation for the eighth meeting of the Werner Group, Mr G. Brouwers, Chairman of the group’s Conjunctural Policy Committee, sends a note to Pierre Werner, Luxembourg Prime Minister and Finance Minister, on the transfer of national powers to the Community institutions during the final stage of monetary union.

On 24 July 1970, Johann-Baptist Schöllhorn, State Secretary in the Ministry of the Economy of the Federal Republic of Germany, receives a telegram in preparation for the forthcoming meeting of the Werner Group on 27 July 1970. In the telegram, Otmar Emminger, Deputy President of the Bundesbank, sets out his position on the proposal of Gerard Brouwers, Chairman of the Conjunctural Policy Committee and member of the Werner Group, concerning the final stage of economic and monetary union.

Pierre Werner’s observations concerning the note issued on 22 July 1970 by Mr G Brouwers, Chairman of the Conjunctural Policy Committee of the Werner Group, regarding the transfer of national powers to the Community institutions during the final stage of monetary union.

In preparation for the eighth meeting of the Werner Group, Gaetano Stammati, Chairman of the Budgetary Policy Committee, drafts a note on the fiscal aspects of a plan for the establishment by stages of an economic and monetary union within the European Communities.

On 29 July 1970, Hans Tietmeyer, an official in the German Ministry of the Economy and alternate member of the Werner Group, drafts an internal report on the eighth meeting of the Werner Group, which was held on 27 July 1970 in Luxembourg.

Following the initial submission to the Council of Ministers of the European Economic Community (EEC) of the interim report on the achievement by stages of economic and monetary union on 9 June 1970, Pierre Werner, Luxembourg Prime Minister and Finance Minister, sends a letter to Hubert Ansiaux, Chairman of the Committee of the Central Bank Governors of the EEC, on 12 June in which he asks for more details regarding certain technical and economic aspects.

In a personal letter dated 4 August 1970, Baron Hubert Ansiaux, Belgian Chairman of the Committee of Governors of the Central Banks of the EEC Member States, sends Pierre Werner, on a confidential basis, the report drawn up by central bank experts for the Committee of Governors on the advisability of harmonising monetary policy instruments and effectively tightening monetary policies in the Member States. This report would become an integral part of the Werner Report.

Pierre Werner’s observations on the conclusions to be drawn after the first submission to the Council of Ministers of the European Communities, on 9 June 1970, of the interim report on the achievement by stages of economic and monetary union.

On 9 September 1970, the German Minister for the Economy drafts a note on the proposals by Hubert Ansiaux, Chairman of the Committee of Governors of the Central Banks and member of the Werner Group, and Bernard Clappier, Chairman of the Monetary Committee and member of the Werner Group, concerning the consultation procedures in the monetary sector conducted on 4 September 1970.

Working documents from the ninth meeting of the Werner Group on 10 and 11 September 1970 in Kirchberg, Luxembourg, including a letter of invitation and an agenda.

At the ninth meeting of the Werner Committee, held on 10 and 11 September 1970 in Luxembourg, the German delegation proposes guidelines for the establishment by stages of an economic and monetary union.

On 16 September 1970, Hans Tietmeyer, an official in the German Ministry of the Economy and alternate member of the Werner Group, drafts an internal report on the ninth meeting of the Werner Group, which was held on 9 and 10 September 1970 in Luxembourg.

The Netherlands Finance Ministry publishes an analysis of the interim report on the achievement by stages of economic and monetary union that the Werner Group is due to submit to the Council and the Commission.

On 13 September 1970, in response to the Pierre Werner's request for remarks on the interim report, Hubert Ansiaux, Chairman of the Committee of the Central Bank Governors of the Member States of the European Economic Community (EEC), sends him a report dated 1 August 1970 containing details on some technical and economic aspects of the establishment of an economic and monetary union.

On 27 August 1970, in preparation for the forthcoming meeting, Georges Morelli, Secretary of the Werner Group, sends a preliminary draft report for the Council and the Commission to the group’s Chairman, Luxembourg Prime Minister and Finance Minister Pierre Werner, on the achievement by stages of economic and monetary union.

On 4 September 1970, for the tenth meeting of the Werner Group, the Committee of the Central Bank Governors publishes a note on strengthening coordination in the area of monetary policy and credit during the first stage of economic and monetary union.

Working documents from the tenth meeting of the Werner Group on 23 and 24 September 1970 in Copenhagen, including a letter of invitation, an agenda and the minutes of the ninth meeting, held on 10 and 11 September 1970 in Kirchberg, Luxembourg.

On 28 September 1970, Hans Tietmeyer, an official in the German Ministry of the Economy and alternate member of the Werner Group, drafts an internal report on the tenth meeting of the Werner Group, which was held on 23 and 24 September 1970 in Copenhagen.

Working documents from the eleventh meeting of the Werner Group on 7 October 1970 in Kirchberg, Luxembourg, including a letter of invitation, an agenda and the minutes of the tenth meeting, held on 23 and 24 September 1970 in Copenhagen.