P.M. BRIEFING : Kohl Calls for Talks to Combine East and West German Currency
West German Chancellor Helmut Kohl called today for immediate talks with East Germany on combining their currencies in an effort to stop people from fleeing the economically crippled Communist nation.
Kohl made the announcement during a meeting with leading politicians of his Christian Democratic Union and the allied Christian Social Union. He said details will be worked out when East German Premier Hans Modrow visits Bonn next week.
Discussions on using West Germany’s robust currency to revive, replace or reinforce the comparatively puny East German mark have grown more intense as the Communist country’s economy nears collapse.
Earlier today, the influential president of West Germany’s central bank said it was too early for a monetary union that would make the West German mark East Germany’s currency.
Deutsche Bundesbank President Karl Otto Poehl also said he is opposed to the idea of introducing the West German mark as a parallel official currency in East Germany. He spoke to reporters after talks in East Berlin with Horst Kaminski, president of the East German central bank.
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