The Dutchman Wim Duisenberg, current President of the European Central Bank (ECB), has announced his intention to resign his post on 9 July 2003. Duisenberg’s announcement coincided with the meeting of the ECB’s Executive Council, held exceptionally in Maastricht on 7 February to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the signing of the Treaty on the European Union. Duisenberg recalled that the Treaty of Maastricht remains “one of the most important and momentous juridical texts in the history of European integration”. Thanks also to the single currency, Duisenberg added, “European integration could become more a process from bottom to top, initiated by the citizens of the EU, and less a process from top to bottom, led by politicians and experts, as it has hitherto been”. Wim Duisenberg also emphasized the importance of the “Growth and Stability Pact”, “a key element of the institutional structure, that provides a solid basis for sound fiscal policies both in the individual member States and in the whole eurozone”. In this regard, in its meeting of 12 February, the Ecofin Council reached a compromise agreement that avoided the adoption of early warnings vis-a-vis both Germany and Portugal due to excessive deficit (cf. SirEurope no. 5/2002). For his part, the German Minister of Finance Eichel “solemnly pledged” to maintain rigour in the public accounts of Berlin to be able to balance the budget by 2004. Ecofin also approved the stability plans of Spain, France and Italy.
