Madam President, Commissioner, Mr President of the European Central Bank, ladies and gentlemen, I believe that the report by the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, which I have the honour of representing, could not have come at a more appropriate time. This report is based on the one drawn up by the European Commission, assessing the first four years of the euro and also, as has been pointed out, on another report on the use of euro notes and coins. The euro has been introduced in a very short time, but has proven its solidity and stability. The European Central Bank and its President, Mr Duisenberg, must be congratulated on the euro’s sound management and we must thank him, in his last appearance in plenary, and extend our best wishes for the future, hoping that he enjoys them in the company of his grandchildren, who have only known the euro as the single currency. The introduction of the euro, its increasing acceptance and its appreciation towards the dollar, inevitably lead us to consider its role at international level, which is the main theme of the report. At the Thessaloniki European Council, the President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, stated that working on the external representation of the euro is absolutely crucial. The report attempts to respond to this need articulated by President Prodi, and proposes principally that the euro should have a single representation in the international financial institutions, and also that this representation should be enhanced at international level. The report does not go further, because we believe that there must be a broad consensus and, obviously, the relevant arrangements in line with this principle must be studied and adopted in the appropriate international forums. There is a suggestion, however, made by Mrs Peijs, to be specific, before her appointment as minister in the new Dutch government, which is to use the type of post that has already been adopted and proposed by the European Convention, of a European Minister for External Affairs. The same could apply to a Minister for European Economic and Monetary Affairs who would, at international level, represent the euro on the basis of a formula contained in a proposal from Ecofin, which the Commission has obviously accepted. This ‘Mr Euro’ or ‘Ms Euro’ would also hold the post of Vice-President of the European Commission. I repeat that this is a suggestion, for a post that has already been adopted and proposed in the Convention, and which appears to be accepted at political level, even by the European Council itself and we therefore believe it to be a valid alternative. In an article that appeared recently in the Financial Times, Martin Wolf said that the Eurozone will very soon be larger than the dollar zone and attributes this to the credibility and soundness of the economy and of the economies that are joining the Eurozone. Obviously, this solidity and credibility are the result of complying with the stability and growth pacts, which it is absolutely crucial to pursue and abide by. We refer to this aspect – compliance with and the need to comply with the stability and growth pacts – as a component and guarantee of the euro’s soundness, credibility and stability, and we study, as one would expect, the use of the euro at international level in various fields and, in particular, on the international financial markets, and its use by our new neighbours, including Russia and the Baltic States. We also refer to the euro’s potential for ensuring greater stability in the supply of raw materials which are extremely important, because of their dependence on the European economy. We believe that energy supply should be paid for in euros. We also refer to the growing number of central banks around the world that are increasing their euro reserves. To conclude, ladies and gentlemen, I shall simply recall that in the report we also study some suggestions and propose a study to be undertaken by the European Central Bank and the central banks that are members of the euro zone, on some aspects of the use of notes and coins, to which Mrs Randzio-Plath has already referred.

Political group: ELDR