WRITTEN QUESTION No. 2322/97 by Georges BERTHU to the Commission. The single currency and reduction in undertakings' costs
C 60/126 EN Official Journal of the European Communities 25. 2. 98 Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission (18 July 1997) Details of the subsidies for cattle exports are contained in the Commissionís reply to written question E-1701/97 by Mr Holm (1). The main exporters of live animals are Germany, France and Ireland. (1) See page 37. (98/C 60/211) WRITTEN QUESTION P-2322/97 by Georges Berthu (I-EDN) to the Commission (30 June 1997) Subject: The single currency and reduction in undertakingsí costs On 27 February 1997, while discussing the preparations for the single currency, Mr Yves-Thibault de Silguy told the French Senateís Delegation for European Affairs that the Commission estimated that the abolition of currency exchange costs alone would result in savings to Europe of something to the order of 200 billion (French) francs per year. However, when talking to the French National Assemblyís Delegation for the European Union on 26 October 1995, Mr de Silguy had estimated those costs at 150 billion francs per year. How does the Commission account for the sharp rise in expected savings over a period of barely eighteen months, when the possibility that some Member States will not participate, as has been officially accepted since the Madrid Summit (December 1995), should result rather in such costs being lower? Can the Commission explain how it arrived at these figures? Answer given by Mr de Silguy on behalf of the Commission (24 July 1997) Commission studies have shown that the costs to businesses of having to conduct transactions in several European currencies amount to some 0. 5% of Community GDP. Since the latter was put at FF 4 391 billion in 1996, expected savings would total FF 220 billion. Consequently, even if all the Member States did not adopt the common currency, savings would still amount to some FF 200 billion a year, the figure quoted in February 1997. The October 1995 figure was based on estimates of GDP at the time that were subsequently revised. Furthermore, it should be pointed out that the figure of 0. 5% of Community GDP could be understated. According to a recent study by the IFO Institute ( Dismantling of barriers, intra-EU multicurrency costsí, Munich, 1997), transaction costs amount to 1% of GDP, in which case the savings expected to accrue from their elimination would total FF 400 billion. (98/C 60/212) WRITTEN QUESTION P-2324/97 by Olivier Dupuis (ARE) to the Commission (30 June 1997) Subject: European corps of civilian and military units Given the plethora of crisis situations in the world, ranging from Somalia to Rwanda and from the former Yugoslavia to Albania, the European Parliament has, on a number of occasions, emphasized the need for the setting up of a European corps of civilian and military units which could undertake peace-keeping and peace-restoring missions. It did this, for example, in the FASSA report (A4-0021/97) (1) and in Petersberg the TINDEMANS report (A4-0162/97), in which it called on the Commission and Council to carry out a feasibility study into this issue