The Future of International Monetary Relations

The name of Professor Triffin is closely linked to the crusade for the rationalisation of international monetary issues. For more than 40 years he has analysed, proposed and persuaded relentlessly. His lifetime works are models of modesty and perseverance. International monetary issues are probably the only branch of economic science where theory and political action are so intimately intertwined. During his professional career, Professor Triffin has most admirably demonstrated the close relationship between pertinent diagnosis and proposals for reform and has occupied eminent official positions and prestigious academic posts. However, international monetary issues are fraught with disappointment, since being right does not mean being heard. Professor Triffin should be the first to know! After publishing his book ‘Europe and the Money Muddle’, a pre-eminent and authoritative work, he witnessed the dissolution of the European Payments Union and the agony of the Bretton Woods Charter. If only Europe could have integrated the monetary regime within the framework of the Treaty of Rome based on Professor Triffin’s proposals to transform the European Payments Union (EPU); if only Europe could have collectively addressed the return of convertibility instead of confronting it in an individualistic manner, thereby exacerbating national egoisms.