DIFFERENT VOICES

Date: 22/02/1996

“It is true that in the conference we will see all our differences, but, maybe for the first time, Europe will also see its future in a broader context ... This is a test for our leadership, but do not conclude in advance that our leaders ... will not be up to the challenge.”

Veteran diplomat Silvio Faglio, who will lead the Italian delegation at the Intergovernmental Conference and is expected to chair it, commenting on the challenges which lie ahead.

“It is inopportune and dangerous to open debates like the one which is happening at the moment. You can't change the rules of play in the middle of the game.”

Economics Commissioner Yves-Thibault de Silguy arguing that the current debate about whether the convergence criteria for the economic and monetary union could be relaxed is counter-productive.

“If you've got several different bands and countries moving from one band to another, this would be ideal for the foreign exchange market to play around with.”

Thomas Mayer, chief international economist at Goldman Sachs in Frankfurt, on the problems which would arise if the EU created a multi-tiered ERM-type system for those countries left outside the single currency bloc.

“Radical reform, including abolishing price support and phasing out compensation payments, would threaten the economic and social stability of many of our rural areas and entail serious environmental risks, as it would lead to a concentration of production in certain regions.”

Agriculture Commissioner Franz Fischler stressing the need for a more streamlined, leaner and simpler Common Agriculture Policy, but ruling out drastic changes in favour of a more gradual approach.

“One cannot exclude isolation, but it is certainly not a policy.”

British Foreign Secretary Malcolm Rifkind on the UK's approach to the forthcoming Intergovernmental Conference, responding to Labour MP Giles Radice's warnings that the UK would be “isolated, irrelevant and unable to pursue its national interests” at the IGC because of the government's stand on key issues facing the conference.