WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2322/97 by Georges BERTHU to the Commission. The single currency and reduction in undertakings' costs
Date: 1997-06-30
Institutions: BERTHU, European Parliament
Subjects: Economic and Monetary Union, costing, economic analysis, exchange transaction, foreign exchange market, type of business

C 60/126

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

25. 2. 98

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(18 July 1997)

Details of the subsidies for cattle exports are contained in the Commission(cid:146)s reply to written question E-1701/97
by Mr Holm (1). The main exporters of live animals are Germany, France and Ireland.

(1)  See page 37.

(98/C 60/211)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2322/97

by Georges Berthu (I-EDN) to the Commission

(30 June 1997)

Subject: The single currency and reduction in undertakings(cid:146) costs

On 27 February 1997, while discussing the preparations for the single currency, Mr Yves-Thibault de Silguy told
the  French  Senate(cid:146)s  Delegation  for  European  Affairs  that  the  Commission  estimated  that  the  abolition  of
currency  exchange  costs  alone  would  result  in  savings  to  Europe  of  something  to  the  order  of  200  billion
(French) francs per year.

However, when talking to the French National Assembly(cid:146)s Delegation for the European Union on 26 October
1995, Mr de Silguy had estimated those costs at 150 billion francs per year.

How  does  the  Commission  account  for  the  sharp  rise  in  expected  savings  over  a  period  of  barely  eighteen
months, when the possibility that some Member States will not participate, as has been officially accepted since
the  Madrid  Summit  (December  1995),  should  result  rather  in  such  costs  being  lower?  Can  the  Commission
explain how it arrived at these figures?

Answer given by Mr de Silguy on behalf of the Commission

(24 July 1997)

Commission  studies  have  shown  that  the  costs  to  businesses  of  having  to  conduct  transactions  in  several
European currencies amount to some 0.5% of Community GDP. Since the latter was put at FF 4 391 billion in
1996, expected savings would total FF 220 billion.

Consequently, even if all the Member States did not adopt the common currency, savings would still amount to
some FF 200 billion a year, the figure quoted in February 1997. The October 1995 figure was based on estimates
of GDP at the time that were subsequently revised.

Furthermore,  it  should  be  pointed  out  that  the  figure  of  0.5%  of  Community  GDP  could  be  understated.
According  to  a  recent  study  by  the  IFO  Institute  ((cid:145)Dismantling  of  barriers,  intra-EU  multicurrency  costs(cid:146),
Munich, 1997), transaction costs amount to 1% of GDP, in which case the savings expected to accrue from their
elimination would total FF 400 billion.

(98/C 60/212)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-2324/97

by Olivier Dupuis (ARE) to the Commission

(30 June 1997)

Subject: European corps of civilian and military units

Given  the  plethora  of  crisis  situations  in  the  world,  ranging  from  Somalia  to  Rwanda  and  from  the  former
Yugoslavia to Albania, the European Parliament has, on a number of occasions, emphasized the need for the
setting  up  of  a  European  corps  of  civilian  and  military  units  which  could  undertake  peace-keeping  and
peace-restoring missions. It did this, for example, in the FASSA report (A4-0021/97) (1) and in Petersberg the
TINDEMANS report (A4-0162/97), in which it called on the Commission and Council to carry out a feasibility
study into this issue.