§ Mr. Austin MitchellTo ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which EC countries currently fulfil the requirements for convergence set out in the Maastricht treaty protocols; in what ways the others fail; and how far the United Kingdom is away from each of the criteria.
§ Mr. NelsonArticle 109j of the Maastricht treaty gives to the Council the responsibility for determining whether a member state has met the necessary conditions for the adoption of a single currency. The Council is required to make this judgment, taking into account reports from the Commission and the European Monetary Institute on the
Latest inflation1 Budget balance2 General government debt3 Long term bond yield4 ERM narrow band5 Belgium 2.1 -6.2 129.7 8.9 Yes Denmark 2.1 -2.0 71.7 9.0 Yes France 2.7 -1.7 48.4 9.1 Yes Germany6 3.5 -3.1 44.9 8.3 Yes Greece 15.3 -16.5 103.3 n/a No Ireland 2.8 -2.3 99.8 8.9 Yes Italy 5.2 -10.2 101.7 11.9 No Luxembourg 3.1 2.5 6.3 7.9 Yes Netherlands 3.5 -3.9 79.7 8.4 Yes Portugal 9.2 -6.4 68.6 11.5 No Spain 5.7 -4.4 45.6 11.7 No United Kingdom 3.6 -2.0 39.9 9.0 No 1 August 1992; percentage change of consumer prices over previous 12 months. 2 1991 General government financial balance (as a percentage of GDP). 3 1991 Gross debt of general government (as a percentage of GDP). 4 June 1992; yield on fixed interest government securities. 5 Membership of the narrow band of the ERM for at least two years, without devaluing on own initiative. 6 Inflation and government debt figures are for western Germany. Source: OECD and Eurostat.