Brussels, 10/05/2002 (Agence Europe) - In the speech he made during the award of the Charlemagne prize for the Euro, on Thursday in Aix-la-Chapelle, the President of the European Central Bank Wim Duisenberg reasserted that the contract, which is the basis of the single currency, specifies that the main aim of the Bank is to maintain price stability. If it does not manage, they is not much else that it can do to contribute towards economic growth and prosperity, said Mr Duisenberg, who received the prize on behalf of the Community he serves. For him, the introduction of the Euro was a historic event notably thanks to the conclusion of two contracts: the first, "monetary and social", which created links between people who use the single currency, and the second "constitutional, which links the ECB to its people.
Mr Duisenberg also raised the works of the European Convention, feeling that if the Convention succeeds in its task to develop the integration of Europe and to democratise itself and simplify the structure of the Union, it will help to "complement the existing economic constitution with effective and transparent political structures and processes. In the same way that the economic constitution, because it is based on sound principals, is capable of meeting the challenges of the future, so Europe will as a whole be better equipped to meet its citizen's expectations".