European Monetary Agreement

European Monetary Agreement (EMA), international governmental organization to facilitate settlement of balance of payments accounts between member states. The EMA, which was administered by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), existed from 1958 until 1972, replacing the European Payments Union. The EMA provided for the convertibility of the currencies of member states; that meant that the currency of one state could be exchanged directly for the currency of any other member state by nonresidents. In view of the facilities available for balance of payments assistance in the International Monetary Fund, the OECD announced (1972) that the EMA would, therefore, be terminated.