For several years the Natural Law Party has maintained that under the wrong conditions Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) could have disastrous consequences for the economies of all member states and the EU as a whole. It is highly dangerous to impose EMU when the EU is undoubtedly not ready for it and it could easily jeopardise the future of the EU itself.

This is not only an economic issue but also an issue of sovereignty since the Euro will quickly undermine the sovereignty of member states. With incoherent European collective consciousness, EMU could easily create serious new tensions in Europe as the advantages and disadvantages become clear for different member states, and the people of disadvantaged regions begin to realise that it is an economic regime from which there is no easy escape. However, monetary union clearly also has advantages in that it provides stability for internal and international trade, it disallows predatory speculation on a national currency, and it disallows one nation from artificially manipulating its currency for unfair trade advantage.

The Natural Law Party therefore believes that the two most important requirements for EMU are: to create stable conditions under which it can work effectively, and to protect the sovereignty of each member state. To be effective, monetary union must be based on true stability of the economy of each member state. Economic stability cannot, however, be artificially contrived as is clear from the turbulent economic history of each EU country during recent decades. Economic stability and dynamism can be created only by strengthening the real basis of the economy, which means unfolding the full creative potential of the population, and creating coherence, integration and dynamism in the collective consciousness.

Now that a single currency has been implemented for eleven member states since 1 January 1999, it is very urgent to use the best means to bring stability to the new currency, the Euro. Since the coherence of collective consciousness is the real basis of the stability of the economy throughout Europe, the Natural Law Party strongly advocates the immediate establishment of a coherence-creating group in Europe.

Only with a stable collective consciousness, and through that a stable economy, will the Euro have a chance of becoming a stable currency.

On this basis, the Natural Law Party believes that the current purely economic criteria for EMU are quite inadequate and proposes an additional stability criterion: the stability of collective consciousness throughout the EU. This would apply both to countries already committed to joining and those who may wish to do so in the future. The Natural Law Party also recommends that the central banks of the eleven Euro countries should be maintained, and that the European Central Bank (ECB) should make its decisions in conjunction with them.

The Natural Law Party's policy is that EU member states should continue to be completely free to decide for themselves when and whether they wish to participate in EMU. The implementation of Natural Law programmes will not only create a stable foundation for EMU, but will also create the basis for full employment, as confirmed by extensive scientific research.

Regarding the decision pending in the UK about joining the single currency, the Natural Law Party's policy is first to apply nationally the new stability criterion of creating a coherent, stable collective consciousness, the basis of a stable, progressive, problem-free economy. While other parties discuss a timetable for monetary union on the basis of purely economic and political factors, we believe that a decision should be made only after the Natural Law Party's new stability criteria have been met. Only when there will be no risk of losing out should the nation decide to join.

The next step will be to make a democratic decision through national referendum. We suggest three options for the referendum:

1. To join the single currency, which will mean abandoning the pound and using only the Euro
   
   
2. To stay out of monetary union altogether and keep the pound
   
   
3. To use both the pound and the Euro, with the two linked by an exchange rate mechanism set by the UK government.

With the third option, the UK will be able to keep the pound as a symbol of national identity and maintain a degree of control over the national economy, while having the advantages of also using the Euro.