EU Relations with the IMF

The external representation of the euro, particularly within the International Monetary Fund (IMF), is certainly complex. It has been the subject of doctrinal and political positions since the Single Act recognized a monetary capacity for the European Community (EC); it is now gaining momentum, especially in view of the quota adjustment undertaken by the IMF. The issue goes far beyond the seemingly technical aspects of the euro area's integration into the IMF. It is, in fact, a central aspect of Europe's place in the new world order, characterized by the birth of a new equilibrium: the crisis of identity of a superpower, the rise in strength of so-called emerging countries, the de-legitimization of the G7 and the construction of a new Europe. This is the meaning of the title of a recent contribution by Lorenzo Bini Smaghi: Powerless Europe: Why is the Euro Area still a political Dwarf? That such an appeal, which is not an alibi, as sometimes happens to central bankers quick to blame politics, comes from a member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank (ECB) says a lot about the lack of imagination and, therefore, the initiative of the political leaders. What is at stake is the European Union (EU) in general.