UK’s answer is “The present arrangement is the best. Stay with the UK and keep the present arrangement – vote No!”
Scottish Government’s answer is “We like many aspects of the present arrangement but we don’t like a host of other aspects of UK – let’s keep the best of the present currency arrangement, improve it - and vote YES to Scotland’s independence!”
Murdo Fraser put this question to five experts on 12th March. They disagreed on the answer. This on the same day that the Treasury Committee was grilling Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of England and doing their level best – unsuccessfully - to bounce him out of his neutrality and objectivity on the the shape of a currency union after a YES vote, and on Scotland’s independence, as re-confirmed and re-asserted to Stewart Hosie MP.
THE SCOTTISH SECTION OF TREASURY COMMITTEE with MARK CARNEY, GOVERNOR OF THE BANK OF ENGLAND – STEWART HOSIE MP SEGMENT
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THE SCOTTISH SECTION OF TREASURY COMMITTEE with MARK CARNEY, GOVERNOR OF THE BANK OF ENGLAND – End of Stewart Hosie segment (the confirmation) and into the COMMITTEE MEMBERS QUESTIONS
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Ignorance of what criteria is needed to join the Euro is dire from so called educated people, sigh.
ReplyDeleteIndeed.
DeleteAbbreviated, as follows -
HICP inflation (12-months average of yearly rates):
Shall be no more than 1.5% higher, than the unweighted arithmetic average of the similar HICP inflation rates in the 3 EU member states with the lowest HICP inflation.
Government budget deficit:
The ratio of the annual general government deficit relative to gross domestic product (GDP) at market prices, must not exceed 3% at the end of the preceding fiscal year.
Government debt-to-GDP ratio:
The ratio of gross government debt (measured at its nominal value outstanding at the end of the year and consolidated between and within the sectors of general government) relative to GDP at market prices, must not exceed 60% at the end of the preceding fiscal year. Or if the debt-to-GDP ratio exceeds the 60% limit, the ratio shall at least be found to have "sufficiently diminished and must be approaching the reference value at a satisfactory pace"
Exchange rate:
Applicant countries should have joined the exchange-rate mechanism (ERM / ERM II) under the European Monetary System (EMS) for two consecutive years, and should not have devalued its currency during the last two years, meaning that the country shall have succeeded to keep its monetary exchange-rate within a ±15% range from an unchanged central rate.
Long-term interest rates (average yields for 10yr government bonds in the past year):
Shall be no more than 2.0% higher, than the unweighted arithmetic average of the similar 10-year government bond yields in the 3 EU member states with the lowest HICP inflation (having qualified as benchmark countries for the calculation of the HICP reference value).
regards,
Peter
You should find this interesting.
ReplyDeleteBank of England Drops a Bombshell on Parliament: It Shredded Its Crisis Era Records
Thanks! It was extremely useful to highlight that, and I've tweeted the link today.
Deleteregards,
Peter