[FR] A European Monetary Fund? Reflections on the debate

Various initiatives have brought the plan to create a European Monetary Fund to the forefront of political debate, particularly in Germany. These ideas are a response to the difficulties encountered by Greece, but they are formulated with a medium-term perspective, given the possibility that other situations similar to that of Greece may arise in the future and the problems that the negotiation of such a fund will inevitably pose. The most detailed proposal was made in a CEPS policy brief, but it is the ideas expressed by German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble that have sparked the debate at the political level, given that this plan has the support, with some nuances, of Chancellor Merkel and the German government in general. The purpose of this paper is to describe the main elements of the debate as it has begun, to examine the possible future of such a suggestion and to suggest a dispassionate reflection on this issue. One of the difficulties of the analysis is that the plan has only been published in summary form in press articles. Nevertheless, the project’s objectives are clear. They have been the subject of various positions.