BIRMINGHAM : Emergency EC Meeting
Leaders of the 12 European Community nations hold a one-day emergency meeting Friday in this English industrial city to sift through the rubble of the European Monetary System and the Maastricht Treaty on European union.
Most EC leaders believe the treaty, which mandates a common EC currency by 1999 and includes a procedure for establishing joint foreign and defense policies, must be made less ambitious to survive.
A bare 51% of French voters approved it last month, but the Danes have already rejected the pact, and it faces tough sledding in the British Parliament.
The leaders will also consider how to get Britain and Italy back into the existing system for linking the values of EC currencies. The pound and the lira have had trouble keeping up with the mark.
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