On 7 February 2007, it will be exactly 15 years since the Treaty of Maastricht was signed in 1992, which preceded the launch of the European single currency in 1999.
But, even eight years on, many countries are still wary of the euro, according to a recent poll carried out by the Financial Times (Euractiv 29/01/07). More recently, France's leading presidential candidates, Nicolas Sarkozy and Ségolène Royal have criticised European Central Bank (ECB) policy, saying that it has impeded economic growth.
The criticisms raised are:
- The ECB's independence;
- the lack of legal status for the Eurogroup chaired by Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, and;
- the Stability and Growth Pact (SGP), which critics say focuses too much on stability rather than growth, especially in comparison with its US-counterpart, the Fed.
Maastricht and the Province of Limburg will host a conference on 7 February 2007. Participants include Dutch Foreign Minister Ben Bot, European Parliament President Hans-Gert Pöttering, Belgian Minister of State Willy Claes, Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, as well as Council of Europe President René van der Linden. A special focus of the discussions will be Europe's economy and the euro, relations between the EU and its citizens and the future of the EU.
