WRITTEN QUESTION P-1930/99 by Michael Cashman (PSE) to the Commission. Prosperity of euro countries.
Date: 1999-10-14
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Italy, USSR, competence of the Member States, espionage

C 170 E/128

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

20.6.2000

(2000/C 170 E/152)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1930/99

by Michael Cashman (PSE) to the Commission

(14 October 1999)

Subject: Prosperity of euro countries

Can the Commission report on the success of the Single Currency to date? How does the prosperity of the
euro countries, and EU non-euro countries, compare with the rest of the world?

Answer given by Mr Solbes Mira on behalf of the Commission

(9 November 1999)

As a result of economic and monetary union (EMU) the Member States which have adopted the euro as
the single currency are able to return to the path of growth and to benefit from the positive impact of the
expansion in the international use of the euro.

These Member States have already thoroughly overhauled their public finances. This culture of stability,
adopted in order to comply with the (cid:145)Maastricht criteria(cid:146) and move to the euro, is beginning to bear fruit.
1998 returned the best economic results of the decade: 2,8 % growth and 1,7 million net jobs created. The
economic fundamentals of the euro zone are satisfactory: low inflation, low interest rates. The Commis-
sion(cid:146)s autumn forecasts, which are now being prepared, will probably confirm that Europe is in the
process of reversing the trend of rising unemployment.

The euro is already standing shoulder to shoulder with the dollar on the international bond markets. The
statistics available for the first half of 1999 show that euro issues account for some 44 % of total world
bond issues. By comparison, the proportion of issues in the eleven euro zone currencies was 30 % of the
total in 1997. The euro is therefore more than a simple sum of the currencies it replaces. It is becoming a
major international currency. The constitution of a wide, deep and liquid European financial market means
that businesses in the Community can obtain finance more easily. For example, the corporate bond market
has expanded rapidly since the beginning of the year. The share of companies in total euro bond issues is
three times their share in 1998 in European currencies. This trend will also help increase Europe(cid:146)s
importance on the monetary stage and by extension redress the balance of the international monetary
system.

(2000/C 170 E/153)

WRITTEN QUESTION P-1932/99

by Antonio Tajani (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(14 October 1999)

Subject: Allegations in the Mitrokhin papers about an Italian spy network working for the Soviet Union(cid:146)s

secret services

The Mitrokhin papers forwarded by the British Government have revealed that a dense spy network used
to operate in Italy employed by the secret services of a foreign State hostile to Italy and free Europe. It
used to monitor and put pressure on the institutions of the Italian State and even reached the highest
political and government levels.

What steps will the President of the Commission, Romano Prodi, take to shed light on this affair as swiftly
as possible?

Will Mr Prodi use his influence with the Italian Government to ensure that all the information needed to
ascertain the truth is made known and, if necessary, call on the governments of other Member States to
supply any documentation connected with the revelations contained in the Mitrokhin papers?