§ Mr. Patrick ThompsonTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, if he will make a statement on the outcome of the meeting of the intergovernmental conference on economic and monetary union held between 30 November and 3 December.
§ Mr. Norman LamontI attended the final scheduled meeting of the intergovernmental conference on economic and monetary union from 30 November to 3 December. A large number of issues were discussed, in preparation for the meeting of the European Council at Maastricht on 9–10 December. Because of the extra time devoted to the intergovernmental conference, the meeting of the Council of Economics and Finance Ministers scheduled for 3 December did not take place.
Progress was made on a number of issues. Although all matters remain open for negotiation at Maastricht, provisional agreement was reached on:
ensuring that if the United Kingdom decide to move to stage 3 of EMU our coins could continue to bear the head of Her Majesty the Queen, and the right of certain Scottish and Northern Irish banks to issue notes should be protected;the principle that the status of the Bank of England need not be changed unless and until the United Kingdom decided to move to Stage 3;making the procedure for monitoring Government budget deficits less inflexible and constraining; and ensuring that legally binding ceilings and sanctions on budget deficits would not apply in stage 2 of EMU.Among other issues discussed were the transition from stage 2 to stage 3, exchange rate policy in stage 3, the functions of the European Central Bank in stage 3, the structure and role of the European Monetary Institute in stage 2, and economic and social cohesion.