The Franco-German Alliance and Its Role in the Process of European Monetary Integration, 1944-2010 - Lessons for Today
Dimitrios Syrrakos
Accounting, Finance & Economics Dept, Business & Law Faculty, Manchester Metropolitan University, Business SchoolAbstract
The aim of this paper is to assess the evolution of the Franco-German alliance and the likely directions in its development. In particular, the question of whether the two countries' close relationship would survive the current economic and political obstacles is addressed. Emphasis is, placed on the way the alliance facilitated the creation of European Monetary Union. Therefore, the signing of the Treaty of Rome, the establishment of the European Monetary System, the creation of the Single European Act and the Maastricht Treaty are evaluated within this perspective. An underlying assumption throughout the analysis is that the prospects of the alliance and EMU will proceed in tandem. If the alliance continues to evolve successfully then the process of European economic integration will also progress, whereas if the two countries relations increasingly attenuate then the process of economic integration would at best stagnate. The main conclusion is that, following the Eurozone debt crisis the Franco-German alliance has been, replaced by "German Hegemony". This has rendered the main driving force of the European Union ineffective and as such has undermined the evolution of its institutions.
Keywords:
Franco-German alliance, EU institutions, EMU debt crisisReferences
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Bini- Smaghi L., Padoa-Scioppa T., Papadia F. 1994. The Transition to EMU in the Maastricht Treaty. Essays in International Finance, 194, November 1994, International Finance Section, Princeton university.
Bibow J. 2015. The euro's savior? Assessing the ECB's crisis management performance and potential for crisis resolution. Institut für Makroökonomie und Konjunkturforschung/Macroeconomic
Policy Institute, Study 42, www.boeckler.de/pdf/p-imk-study-42 -2015.pdf.
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Cole A. 2001. Franco-German Relations: Political Dynamics of the European Union. Pearson Education Ltd, England.
Crafts N., Toniolo G. 1996. Economic Growth in Europe Since 1945. Centre for Economic Policy Research, Cambridge University Press.
Cram L. 1997. Policy-making in the EU: conceptual lenses and the integration process. Routledge, London and New York.
Crawford M. 1996. Foreword by Lord Kingsdown "One Money for Europe? The Economics and Politics of EMU". Macmillan, London.
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Dormael A.V. 1978. Bretton Woods: Birth of a Monetary System. The Macmillan Press, London.
Dyson K., Featherstone K. 1999. The Road to Maastricht: Negotiating Economic and Monetary Union. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
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Fratianni M., von Hagen J. 1990a. German Dominance in the EMS: the Empirical Evidence. Open Economic Review, 1: 67-87.
Fratianni M., von Hagen J. 1990b. Asymmetries and Realignments in the EMS. In: The European Monetary Systemin the 1990s. Eds. P. De Grauwe, L. Papademos. Longman for CEPS and the Bank of Greece, London.
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Garrett G. 1993. The politics of Maastricht. Economics and Politics, 5(2): 105-123.
George S. 1996. Policy and Politics in European Union. Oxford University Press, New York.
Giavazzi F., Giovannini A. 1989. Exchange Rate Flexibility: The European Monetary System. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
Giscard D'estaing V.G. 1994. The year 2000: the European currency's first birthday. In: 30 years of European Monetary Integration from the Werner Plan to EMU. Ed. A. Steincherr. Longman, London.
Goodman S.F. 1996. The European Union. Macmillan Press Ltd., London.
Grauwe P. De. 1990. The Cost of Disinflation and the European Monetary System. Open Economies Review, 1: 147-173.
Gros D. 2010. Adjustment difficulties in the GIPSY Club. CEPS Working Document, 326, Centre for European Policy Studies, Brussels.
Gros D., Mayer T. 2010. Towards a Euro(pean) Monetary Fund. CEPS policy Brief, 202, Centre for European Policy Studies, Brussels.
Gros D., Thygesen N. 1998. European Monetary Integration: From EMS to EMU. Longman, London.
Henning C.R. 1998. Currencies and Politics in the Unites States, Germany and Japan. Institute for International Economics, Washington.
Hildebrand K. 1989. German Foreign Policy from Bismarck to Adenauer: The limits of statecraft. Translated by L. Willmot. Unwin Hyman Ltd., London.
Hix S. 1999. The Political System of the European Union. Macmillan Press Ltd., London.
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Mazzucelli C. 1997. France and Germany at Maastricht. Policies and Negotiations to Create the European Union. Garland, New York.
McCarthy P. 2001. France-Germany: In the Twenty-First Century. Palgrave Macmillan, London.
McNamara R.K. 1998. The Currency of Ideas: Monetary Policies in the European Union. Cornell University Press, New York.
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Molle W. 1997. The Economics of European Integration: Theory, Practice and Policy. Ashgate Publishing Ltd, Aldershot Hants, England.
Moravcsik A. 1998. The Choice for Europe: Social Purpose and State Power from Rome to Maastricht. Cornell University Press, New York.
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Odendahl C. 2015. Quantitative easing alone will not ward off deflation. Centre for European Reform, London, 21st January, http://www.cer.org.uk/insights/quantitative-easing-alone-will-not-ward-deflation.
Overturf F.S. 1997. Money and European Union. St Martin's Press, New York.
Padoa-Scioppa T. 1988. The European Monetary System: a long-term view. In: The European Monetary System. Eds. S. Giavazzi, S. Micossi, M. Miller. Banca d'Italia, Centro Interuniversitario di Studi Teorici per la Politica Economica.
Pelkmans J. 1997. European Integration; Methods and Economic Analysis. Longman, London.
Report on Economic and Monetary Union in the European Community. 1989. Delors Committee, Office for Publications of the European Communities, Luxemburg.
Schmitt-GrohE S., Uribe M. 2013. Downward Nominal Wage Rigidity and the Case for Temporary Inflation in the Eurozone. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 27(3): 193-211.
Serfaty S. 1968. France, De Gaulle, &Europe: The Policy of the Fourth and Fifth Republics towards the Continent. John Hopkins Press, Baltimore.
Solomon R. 1982. The International Monetary System, 1945-1976: An Insiders' View. Harper & Row, New York.
Spahn P.B. 1993. The Community Budget for an Economic and Monetary Union. Macmillan Press Ltd., London.
Syrrakos D. 2010. A Reassessment of the Werner Plan and the Delors Report. Why did they experience a different fate? Comparative Economic Studies, 52: 575-588.
Summer M.T., Zis G. 1982. European Monetary Union: Progress and Prospects. Macmillan Press Ltd., London.
Szasz A. 1999. The Road to European Monetary Union. Macmillan Press Ltd., London.
Tew B. 1988. The Evolution of the International Monetary System, 1944-1988. Fourth Edition. Hutchinson, London.
Triffin R. 1961. Gold and the Dollar Crisis. Yale University Press, New Haven, Connecticut.
Tsoukalis L. 1996. The New European Economy Revisited. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Ungerer H. 1997. A Concise History of European Monetary Integration: From EPUto EMU. Quorum Books, Westport.
Vanthoor W. 1996. European Monetary Union since 1848: A Political and Historical Analysis. Edward Elgar Editions, Cheltenham.
Verdun A. 1999. The role of the Delors Committee in the creation of EMU: an epistemic community? Journal of European Public Policy, 6(2): 308-328.
Wallace H., Wallace W. 2000. Policy-Making in the European Union. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Watson M.S.A. 1997. Aspects of European Monetary Integration: The Politics of Convergence. Macmillan Press Ltd., London.
Webber D. 1999. The Franco-German Relationship in the European Union. Routledge, London.
Williams A.M. 1991. The European Community. Blackwell, Oxford.
Yeager L. 1965. International Monetary Relations: Theory, History and Policy. A Harper International Edition.
Syrrakos, D. (2016). The Franco-German Alliance and Its Role in the Process of European Monetary Integration, 1944-2010 - Lessons for Today. Olsztyn Economic Journal, 11(2), 119–135. https://doi.org/10.31648/oej.2915
Dimitrios Syrrakos
Accounting, Finance & Economics Dept, Business & Law Faculty, Manchester Metropolitan University, Business School
Accounting, Finance & Economics Dept, Business & Law Faculty, Manchester Metropolitan University, Business School
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