Hr. formand, for øjeblikket ser det ud til, at ØMU'ens tredje fase gennemføres i overensstemmelse med tidsplanen, selvom kun to lande, Finland og Luxembourg, ifølge Kommissionens og IMF's vurderinger kommer til at opfylde konvergenskriterierne. Man bliver dermed nødt til at fortolke og slække på disse kriterier.
Mr President, it now seems clear that the third stage of EMU will take place in accordance with the timetable, although according to the assessment of the Commission and the Monetary Fund only two countries, Finland and Luxembourg, will fulfil the convergence criteria It may therefore be necessary to interpret and relax them, partly in order to revive the employment situation and economic growth in some countries in the next few years and to prevent 'asymmetrical crises'.