956 Views
Ph:Dr: MONETARY COOPERATION AGREEMENT BETWEEN WAMU AND FRANCE
The deputies of the 9th legislature held a plenary session yesterday, Tuesday, January 23, 2024, which allowed them to study the file of the Monetary Cooperation Agreement between the West African Monetary Union (UMOA) and France. Thanks to the seminar organized on January 17, 2024, the deputies understood the subject well and voted for it to save Benin.
Under review on January 11, the bill authorizing the ratification of the Cooperation Agreement of December 21, 2019 between the governments of the member states of the West African Monetary Union and the government of the French Republic was unsuccessful. . MEPs raised concerns related to the CFA Franc. They also wanted the organization of a seminar to be enlightened by specialists on the issue. During this seminar the debates were held. The deputies seemed to have understood well even if doubts persist. The law was voted against by all the deputies, including those of the opposition, the Democrats.
According to the report of the Finance Committee, we note that the agreement under debate was born in 2019 from the desire of the Umoa authorities to advance the functioning of their monetary cooperation with France.
According to the project, discussions between France and its African partners resulted in a common proposal for reforms to the bodies and functioning of the Umoa franc zone. This follows four axes, namely the change of name of the currency from “Cfa Franc” to the single currency “Eco”. The removal in 2020 of the obligation to centralize foreign exchange reserves on the Treasury operating account. There is also the withdrawal of France from the main decision-making bodies in the area. Finally, there is the concomitant establishment of ad hoc dialogue and risk monitoring mechanisms. The realization of these proposals was materialized by the signing of a new monetary cooperation agreement between France and the member countries of Umoa, on December 21, 2019 in Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire, replacing the agreement of cooperation dating from December 4, 1973.
From this report, the deputies raised various concerns including in particular the measures envisaged to best manage the points of divergence between Nigeria and Ivory Coast within the framework of the advent of the Single Eco currency. The deputies raised the effectiveness of France’s withdrawal from the main decision-making bodies in the Umoa zone. And many other concerns.
