WRITTEN QUESTION No. 488/96 by Gerardo FERNÁNDEZ-ALBOR to the Commission. Application of the Maastricht criteria to the economies of Iberoamerica
Date: 1996-03-01
Institutions: European Parliament, FERNANDEZ ALBOR
Subjects: South America, competitiveness, cooperation policy, economic cooperation, economic development, macroeconomics, technical cooperation













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91996E0488

WRITTEN QUESTION No. 488/96 by Gerardo FERNÁNDEZ-ALBOR to the Commission. Application of the Maastricht criteria to the economies of Iberoamerica  


Official Journal C 185 , 25/06/1996 P. 0065 





WRITTEN QUESTION E-0488/96 by Gerardo Fernández-Albor (PPE) to the Commission (1 March 1996)Subject: Application of the Maastricht criteria to the economies of IberoamericaThe beneficial consequences to the economies of the Community Member States of striving to comply with the Maastricht convergence requirements, above all through economic rationalization, should not remain the preserve of the Community.It is absolutely essential for the Iberoamerican economies to be restructured to ensure their optimum development. Moreover, they have special ties to the economy of the European Union. They should therefore be encouraged to take advantage of the Maastricht convergence criteria, by seeking to comply with these criteria, in view both of the intrinsic economic benefits and the general advantages of identifying themselves with the Community economy.Does the Commission believe that it should help any Iberoamerican countries which so request by providing them with the technical assistance necessary to structure their economies in such a way as to enable them to adhere to the Maastricht convergence criteria, since this would help them considerably to balance their economies, following the example of Argentina, which already complies with the above convergence criteria?Answer given by Mr Marín on behalf of the Commission (21 March 1996)The Commission agrees with the Honourable Member that it is essential to support Latin American efforts to promote economic reform and improve international competitiveness, two of the major challenges facing this subcontinent as the end of the century approaches.The Commission also believes that inflation, public debt and exchange rate objectives are central to any macro-economic stabilization policy. However, such objectives and the means of achieving them have to be tailored to each country's specific situation, and if necessary fleshed out. The criteria defined in the Treaty on European Union are rules of sound economic management which are essential to the success of monetary union. They cannot be automatically transposed unchanged to other contexts.Because the Commission places considerable emphasis on macro-economic stabilization policies, it will take care to ensure that any action it takes is not only compatible with the stabilization and structural reform programmes being undertaken in Latin America, in some cases under the auspices of the World Bank and IMF, but is also complementary to them.The Commission is willing not only to give Latin American countries access to its instruments of cooperation but also to consider, on a case-by-case basis, any projects to promote economic reforms and monetary and exchange rate stability in Latin America in accordance with the general guidelines for cooperation between the European Union and Latin America for 1996-2000. ((COM(95) 495 final. ))