Brussels, 31/08/2000 (Agence Europe) - The European Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs this week adopted the report by French Socialist Pervenche Berès on convergence and stability in countries applying for EU membership, a report that will be discussed with those of other parliamentary committees during a special debate devoted to enlargement.
Following Ms Berès, the economic and monetary committee, which recognises the considerable economic shock to the new Member States in the first years of EU membership, stresses that these new members will only be able to enter into the euro zone once they have fulfilled the convergence criteria and successfully carried out transition to the market economy. Ms Berès recommends that the applicants adopt, as soon as possible, an exchange rate policy linked to the euro, while, for the liberalisation of capital movements, she suggests the establishment of transitional periods.
The economic and monetary committee, moreover, slimly rejected a paragraph of the resolution affirming that the EMU represents an irreversible overall political project involving closer coordination of economic and social policies of countries taking part.