European Monetary System

American  

noun

1. a Common Market program designed to narrow the fluctuation of western European currencies against one another. EMS

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European Monetary System British  

noun

1.  EMS.  the system used in the European Union for stabilizing exchange rates between the currencies of member states and financing the balance-of-payments support mechanism. The original Exchange Rate Mechanism was formed in 1979 but superseded in 1999 when the euro was adopted as official currency of 11 EU member states. A new exchange rate mechanism (ERM II) based on the euro is used to regulate the currencies of participating states that have not adopted the euro

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Example Sentences

He had been instrumental in creating the 1972 fixed-exchange-rate arrangement that evolved in 1979 into the European Monetary System, the forerunner of today’s euro currency.

From Washington Post • Dec. 2, 2020

In Europe, leaders introduced the European Monetary System in 1979—the ancestor of today’s euro zone.

From Economist • Jul. 3, 2014

A readjustment of currencies within the European Monetary System, which is made up of Belgium, Denmark, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany, took place last weekend.

From Time Magazine Archive

Some European currencies are already bound by such a regime: the European Monetary System.

From Time Magazine Archive

While Britain, France and Italy would like to cut interest rates to stimulate growth, the European Monetary System obliges them to keep their currencies from falling too far behind the mark.

From Time Magazine Archive