In what aides described as a closely orchestrated policy, Socialist President Fran?ois Mitterrand and conservative Prime Minister Edouard Balladur have delivered ringing appeals for a single European currency by 1997. Mitterrand, who will leave the presidency after elections this spring, told the European Parliament in a farewell address last week that a single currency was "an indispensable trump card" that Europe must now play in order to avoid lapsing into anarchy.
Balladur, who is the heavy favorite to succeed Mitterrand, declared Monday that "France has the economic capacity and the political will to change to a single currency."
The coordinated calls for a single currency reflect more than the usual rhetoric as France assumes control of the EU presidency for the next six months. Rather, French officials say, it shows anxiety across the political spectrum that failure to adopt the currency will allow Germany to become an unchecked economic superpower that will dominate its neighbors to a dangerous degree.
Germany's clout is expanding rapidly for several reasons: It has reoriented its economy to the demands of the 21st century faster than its partners; it has captured large chunks of the emerging markets in the east; and the mark has solidified its role as a safe haven for nervous capital. Meanwhile, the German Bundesbank continues to call the tune on European interest rates. The French realize that the only way to loosen the Bundesbank's dominance in setting interest rates for all of Europe is to replace the mark, and all other currencies, with a new European currency as quickly as possible.
The goal of common money in Europe is one of the most ambitious aspects of the Maastricht Treaty, which has been ratified by all 15 EU member states. But it is also one of the most controversial because of the surrender of sovereignty involved in replacing the familiar lira, franc or mark with a new, untested currency.
In Germany, where the mark is revered as a patriotic symbol as well as an emblem of the nation's economic might, opinion polls show a majority of voters are still reluctant to embrace European monetary union.
Chancellor Helmut Kohl, one of Maastricht's staunchest supporters, has insisted that Germany will take the leap toward a single currency only if its partners agree to make equally fast strides toward political union by granting more power to the European Parliament.
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