Four to meet Maastricht criteria by end of 1996

Date: 31/10/1996

By Tim Jones

EU GOVERNMENTS were right to abandon the Maastricht Treaty's original idea of forming a monetary union in January 1997.

The European Commission's annual report on Convergence in the EU, due for publication on 6 November, will reveal that only four member states would have been ready to sign up.

The report finds “substantial progress towards the achievement of a high degree of sustainable convergence”.

To join the euro club, countries must have low inflation and long-term interest rates, a stable currency and sound public finances.

The treaty stipulated that at least eight member states had to meet these targets by the end of this year if EMU was to kick off from next January.

But, in fact, only Luxembourg, Ireland, Denmark and the Netherlands will manage this in 1996.