	ec ministers will discuss strengthening ems float european community finance ministers and central bankers meet in belgium this weekend to discuss strengthening europe s joint currency float amid continuing worries about turbulence on foreign exchanges belgian finance minister mark eyskens who will host the informal talks told reuters the ministers and central bank chiefs would discuss the situation on currency markets in the light of the february agreement among leading industrialised countries to stabilise exchange rates around present levels in an interview eyskens said he felt the paris accord between the united states japan west germany france britain and canada had proved itself more or less workable but doubts over its effectiveness and durability have been growing since fears of a trade war between the united states and japan over computer microchips pushed the dollar to a record low against the surging yen early this week the talks at the belgian resort of knokke are being held to coordinate the ec s positions on monetary issues and third world debt ahead of the spring meetings of the international monetary fund and world bank in washington next week the ec gathering begins tonight with a dinner but the main discussions will take place tomorrow continued international currency turbulence could undermine plans for reinforcing the european monetary system the joint float holding eight ec currencies within narrow fluctuation bands which will feature high on the weekend agenda eyskens has repeatedly said that europe needs a period of calm on world currency markets and in particular a more stable dollar before it can set about strengthening the ems to make it more resilient against exchange rate swings the ems has been taking a battering over the last year as the falling dollar has sent funds surging into the dominant ems currency the west german mark forcing ministers to undertake two major realignments of parities within nine months in the interview eyskens made clear he was hoping for a wide ranging discussion on the future of the eight year old ems on the basis of proposals for bolstering it drawn up by the ec s monetary committee and the committee of central bank governors the committees were asked to come up with the proposals after the last reshuffle of ems exchange rates in january eyskens repeated calls for the european currency unit the fledgling ec currency at the core of the system to take over the mark s dominant role in the ems a proposal that has met with a cool response in west germany he said ec commission president jacques delors would report to the meeting on problems raised by plans to liberalise capital movements fully within the nation bloc by such as the need for harmonising taxes and banking controls eyskens said liberalisation of capital movements without strengthening the ems would be an element of destabilisation in the community he said the crucial issue in the debate was whether member states were willing to push further towards the ec s goal of monetary integration on the basis of an ems that included management of exchange rates by some kind of common institution instead of by national central banks as at present plans for the creation of such an institution foreseen by the ems s founding fathers have been thwarted by the reluctance of some countries notably west germany to gove up their sovereignty in the monetary field ems development has also been held up by britain s refusal so far to join the system s core exchange rate mechanism reuter 
