The Monetary Committee as a promoter of European integration

Abstract

The Monetary Committee has many aspects. In the early years one of the chairmen described it as a ‘club of like-minded personalities’. This was probably one of the most useful functions the Committee has served: ‘to create short-cuts through the maze of official channels; to form a nucleus of high officials in every administration — treasuries and central banks — who know each other well enough to make instant communication possible on a personal basis and who trust one another sufficiently to put all their cards on the table. There have been many instances, when an agreement was reached only because members of the Committee got together on a confidential basis and explained the real reasons behind their national positions’.^I