Euro
Review of the international role of the euro
REPORT - The European Central Bank published its annual review of the international role of the euro on 2 December. The main findings are that the euro is the second most widely used currency internationally and its role is still growing, albeit…
ECB chief says euro zone inflation risks falling
Duisenberg's comments on Tuesday, in testimony to the European parliament, seem to strengthen feeling that the ECB will cut interest rates when it meets on Thursday. The futures market seems certain of at least a quarter point cut with a fifty per cent…
Hamalainen - Reflection on euro area membership
SPEECH - In the speech 'Reflection on euro area membership' Sirkka Hamalainen of the European Central Bank said the approaching enlargement of the EU means the ECB must reform, particularly as most of these countries have expressed a firm interest in…
Heading for a collision over the euro
ARTICLE - The article suggests that it would be 'extraordinary' were the UK Treasury to recommend entry to the euro after the signals they have sent out since the last general election.
Issing: ECB not satisfied with inflation rate
European Central Bank Chief Economist Otmar Issing Monday attempted to debunk talk of deflationary risks in the euro zone, indicating that stagflation is actually a bigger risk for the region. The ECB's Governing Council meets this week and is widely…
Euro group meets to study future of stability pact
Euro group finance ministers met on Monday for the first time since Brussels proposed new ideas to strengthen the 12-nation zone's much-maligned stability pact. The pact, while staunchly defended by the ECB as 'indispensable' has received much criticism…
ECB worried inflation hasn't slowed with economy
The European Central Bank is concerned that inflation in the euro zone hasn't slowed as much as growth has this year, Chief Economist and Executive Board member Otmar Issing said in a newspaper interview.
ECB to study lending policies with survey
The European Central Bank will begin conducting a quarterly survey next year of credit policies practised by banks operating in the 12-nation euro zone. The move comes just days after the Irish central bank warned lenders to stick within guidelines.
Poland sees risk of delaying EMU entry
A member of the Monetary Policy Council (RPP) of the central bank, Boguslaw Grabowski, sees a risk of delay in Poland's accession to the euro zone because of possible problems in reducing the budget deficit.
Cutting kronas in Sweden
ARTICLE - As we reported earlier in the week Swedish prime minister Goran Persson is set to name the date for the euro referendum next week. The proposed referendum on Sweden's entry to the euro looks like taking place in Autumn 2003. However on current…
London not losing out over euro says B of E
In its six monthly 'Practical Issues Arising from the Euro' the Bank of England said on Friday that the City of London had retained its share of foreign exchange trading and in various other dealing areas since the introduction of the euro as a tradeable…
Greens win reprieve on Irish notes landfill site
The problem of what to do with the old legacy currencies replaced by the euro reared its head in Ireland as the central bank bowed to pressure and agreed to look again at what it was doing with the old Irish punts and not just dump them in landfill sites.
Italy poised to put strict curb on public spending
After much recent talk on the stability and growth pact Italy looks set to restrict spending in an effort to avoid sanctions which other euro zone countries have recently incurred for not restricting their budget deficits to within 3 percent of GDP. The…
Heikensten on the krona, Sweden and EMU
SPEECH - In the speech 'The krona, Sweden and EMU' Lars Heikensten of the Sveriges Riksbank said the most likely time for a referendum to Sweden's entry to the euro would be Autumn 2003. If Sweden was to enter ERM2 Heikensten said, the decision on the…
Sweden to set course for decision on euro entry
Sweden looks set to name a date for a referendum on entry to the euro. Swedish central bank deputy governor Lars Heikensten recently said in a speech that the most likely date for a referendum would be Autumn 2003. In an interview Swedish PM Goran…
Welteke says risks to economic growth are high
Bundesbank chief Ernst Welteke implied the ECB may be close to easing interest rates. Speaking in Stockholm he said that the euro zone economy had risks on the downside and that low growth posed more of a threat than inflation.
Britain held back by isolation from euro
LETTER - Letter published in the Financial Times, 18 November by Simon Buckby, Campaign Director, Britain in Europe. He says Britain's label of the 'reluctant European' has cost it dear and membership of the euro will be the first step in repairing the…
Domingo Solans on the euro as a driving force
SPEECH - Eugenio Domingo Solans of the European Central Bank said five years is a very short period of time in the normal life of a central bank. He compared the ECB to the Banco de San Carlos, the forerunner of the Bank of Spain created in 1782…
Swedes to hold euro referendum
SWEDEN - Sweden gets the go ahead for a euro referendum from the government but as we reported last week deputy governor of the Swedish Central Bank, Eva Srejber, thinks 2006 is a realistic timetable for Sweden to enter EMU. Swedish trade unionists…
German coins make their mark in the eurozone
GERMANY - Though recent surveys suggest many Germans want their old marks back, it looks like German minted euro coins are poised to flood across borders. Because a third of all euro coins are produced with German national images on the reverse some…
Sterling coins may contain more nickel than euros
UK - Britain in Europe (BiE), a lobby group who campaign for UK entry to the euro, have come up with the perfect riposte to euro sceptics who complain that the euro coins contain high levels of nickel which can cause skin irritation. A Europhile lobby…
ECB Monthly Bulletin, November 2002
REPORT - The European Central Bank published its November 2002 Monthly Bulletin on 14 November. The bulletin contains three articles. The first focuses on the issue of the accountability of the ECB. The second addresses the importance of transparency in…
Economists' expectation of UK euro entry falls
UK - Financial markets indicate expectations of Britain joining the euro are receding as a result of the lack of any movement in the opinion polls, according to economists at HSBC.
Bank of England is model for 'new' ECB
FRANCE - The path towards Britain's possible entry into the euro will be made much easier by a radical French plan for the European Central Bank to be reformed in the image of the Bank of England.