`Historic' decision on euro welcomed by Brown

The decision on the euro would change the future of Europe's peoples, the president of the European Parliament said, speaking…

The decision on the euro would change the future of Europe's peoples, the president of the European Parliament said, speaking as the body gave its stamp of approval to the single currency for 11 states.

The MEPs voted on Saturday for the recommendations of the Council of Finance Ministers, Ecofin, on the introduction of the euro to the 11 countries, including Ireland. Of the 15 MEPs from the Republic, 13 were in favour.

The two Green MEPs, Ms Patricia McKenna and Ms Nuala Ahern, were absent for the vote. Their Green Party colleagues were largely in favour, with 19 for and five against.

Of the Northern Ireland MEPs, Mr John Hume voted in favour, but Mr Jim Nicholson was against. The third, the Rev Ian Paisley, was not present.

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Opening the special plenary session, the President of the European Parliament, Mr Jose Maria Gil-Robles, said it was an event never seen before in history and it was a decision that would change the future of Europe's people.

When the vote was announced by Mr Gil-Robles, at 467 for, 65 against, and 24 abstentions, the MEPs rose to give a standing ovation. The president then signed the document which gave the parliament's opinion, the official term for its approval, on the recommendation.

The first speaker was Britain's Mr Gordon Brown, Chancellor of the Exchequer. In his capacity as President of the Council of Finance Ministers, he presented Ecofin's recommendations.

Describing the day as one "of historic significance for Europe", Mr Brown said it was wholly in accord with the democratic traditions of our continent for the European Parliament to play an important role.

When the euro was introduced there would be more than 290 million people using it, some 5 per cent of the world's population, he said. The single currency of 11 countries would account for a fifth of the world's output, similar to that of the US, and the euro areas would be one of the world's largest importers and exporters.

Mr Brown said that 50 years ago when the founders of the European Community began their work, the establishment of arrangements for permanent peace in western Europe was their greatest priority - to set aside forever age-old feuds and enmities and to establish a framework for co-operation and progress for the peoples of Europe.

In their wisdom, they recognised that enduring peace in our countries could only rest in the prosperity of the peoples. "Right from the beginning those founders began to set out the path which has led us to the historic decisions on monetary union which we will take today," Mr Brown said.

Now after half a century, having built from the ruins of war, Europe had moved closer together and entered a new era. So that the EMU was sustainable and durable, the decisions the council recommended were based on a consideration of whether the member states had fulfilled the conditions of legal and economic convergence set down in the Maastricht Treaty.

The 11 countries satisfied the necessary conditions for the adoption of the single currency.

The declaration, he said, reflected the importance attached to the needs of Europe's 18 million unemployed. It emphasised just how important it was to tackle unemployment by welfare, tax and social security reform, as well as measures for training and education, and ending social exclusion.

Mr Brown told MEPs: "Fellow parliamentarians, economic and monetary union is born out of our shared objectives for growth and employment. It is founded on our common commitment to long-term stability."

The President of the European Commission, Mr Jacques Santer, said that the euro was making the vision a reality. Economic conditions had never been so good.

When the debate began, some MEPs sounded notes of caution. Ms Bernie Malone (Dublin) said there was an onus on all member states, particularly those which had decided not to take part in EMU from the outset, to manage their currencies in the common interest.

"Britain should not be allowed to engage in sudden devaluations of the pound sterling," she stated.

Mr Pat The Cope Gallagher (Connaught/Ulster) warned that it was imperative that extensive and well financed dual pricing campaigns were put in place in all supermarkets and stores in advance of the introduction of the single currency.