ABSTRACT
Although the Rome treaty is silent on the topic of economic and monetary union as such, it did provide for closer cooperation among member states on their economic and monetary and financial policies. The economic policy required member states to conduct their economic policy so as to achieve the objectives of economic and monetary union (EMU) and in accordance with the principle of an open market economy with free competition. Sweden had met the economic criteria but had not taken steps to ensure the independence of its central bank, which was also a requirement for EMU membership. The 1973 enlargement which increased Community membership from six to nine, and its population from 191 million to 255 million, was expected to invigorate the Economic Community (EC) and speed its development during the 1970s. An emergency meeting of the European Council ten days later unanimously nominated Jose Manuel Barroso, Portugal's centre-right prime minister, as commission president.
