On Sunday, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) stressed the importance of member states “regularly transmitting” their Multi-Year Convergence Programmes MYCPs) as part of the implementation of the single ‘eco’ currency.
West African leaders discussed the issue of ‘eco’, the single currency of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), on Sunday.
They said they had taken note of the conclusions of the second meeting of the High-Level Committee on the practical arrangements for the creation of this currency, which is intended to put an end to the CFA franc.
“After congratulating the Committee on the quality of its report, the Conference (of Heads of State) decides to maintain the Stability and Macroeconomic Convergence Pact between the Member States of ECOWAS as it stands and to invite the Commission to submit a draft additional act defining the modalities for the participation of Member States in the Monetary Union at its first ordinary session in 2025,” the regional organisation emphasised in the final communiqué issued at the 65th ordinary summit on Sunday, July 7, in Abuja, Nigeria.
President Bola Tinubu and his peers instructed the ECOWAS Commission, in collaboration with the West African Monetary Agency, “to proceed with the evaluation of the costs, the identification of sources and modalities of financing for the establishment of the institutions necessary for the creation of the ‘eco’ to be submitted to it at its first Ordinary Session in 2025.” At this meeting too, the High-Level Committee will have to “submit a report.”
At the summit, the Conference of Heads of State also reiterated the importance of Member States “regularly transmitting” to the Commission their Multiannual Convergence Programmes (MCCPs) for the periods concerned. The aim of this action is to enable the Commission to regularly map out the macroeconomic convergence path of the Member States and the Community, she explained.
To this end, it invites all these states to draw up and transmit to he ECOWAS Commission their CPPs for the period 2025-2029, by 31
October 2024 at the latest. The Commission is required to report on the transmission of these documents at its next ordinary session, scheduled for a date yet to be determined.
ODL/ac/fss/GIK/APA
