Britain to be Full Member

Press, Volume LXXXVI, Issue 26121, 25 May 1950, Page 5

Britain to be Full Member

RECOGNITION OF STERLING AS WORLD CURRENCY (N.Z. Press Association—Copyright.) (Rec. 11 p.m.) PARIS, May 21. Britain has won her fight to have sterling recognised as an international currency by the proposed European Payments Union. It was announced in Paris to-night that the union, with Britain as a full member, would come into effect on July 1, with initial capital in its clearing-house of £214,000,000, provided from the current year's allocations of Marshall aid. Britain’s decision to join the union was described by observers in Paris as the biggest boost to European co-operation since the Marshall Plan began. Under the union proposals, the existing system of bilateral trading in Europe will be replaced by a clearing-house system, through which European currencies will be convertible. Each country will balance its account with the union at the end of each trading period, but sterling, as an international currency, will be exempt, and can be used for purchases anywhere in the sterling area. A draft outline of the new union will be submitted to the Finance Ministers of member countries of the Organisation for European Economic Co-operation when they meet in Paris