Following the political agreement on the Maastricht Treaty, the EMI took up its duties in 1994. Alexandre Lamfalussy, then general manager of the BIS, was chosen to head this new institution.
Ensuring the free movement of goods, services, capital and people through membership of the single market has encouraged the Irish financial sector to grow enormously over the decades, allowing us to far outperform in the global economy what would be expected of our relatively small population.