Series is open according to the Archives Access Policy. Files will be screened by reference staff for any time restrictions. Box 134 contains closed material.
Scope and Content
Series consists of the country files maintained by the EUR Immediate Office since its establishment in 1953; exceptions are Finland, Luxembourg, Poland, Switzerland, and Yugoslavia where files are dated from 1946., Records reflect all aspects of the Department's functions and activities, in particular advising on economic, financial and political developments in countries within its area; conducting consultation missions and negotiations involving the use of Fund's resources; review of performance under financial programs; and coordinating technical assistance efforts in member countries. Files reveal the work between the European Department, its Divisions, and the Functional Departments, and provide a valuable information on the IMF's activities and approaches in member and non-member countries assigned to the Department, i.e. , European and non-European countries, including dependent overseas territories., Files are organized alphabetically according to country and chronologically within each file, typically by Correspondence & Memos, Numbered Documents, and Executive Board Minutes. There are also few files scattered throughout the collection with topics such as Eastern Europe, Stand-By Arrangement, Use of Fund Resources, and Staff Visit. Additionally, one-time occurrence files can be found on a variety of topics., Records consist of memoranda exchanged between the EUR Director and the Managing Director, Deputy Managing Director, Members of the Executive Board, Department Heads, Advisors and Senior Advisors, and Division Chiefs; correspondence exchanged within the Department, with IMF Resident Representatives, and with other technical assistance experts assigned to countries; external memoranda, letters (including a few handwritten), telexes, telegrams, and cables exchanged with country officials, Central and Reserve Banks, Embassies, and other regional and international organizations; draft and final Executive Board Documents; Back-to-Office Reports for visits to countries; minutes of meetings; reports; country background notes, briefing papers; comments on drafts and final papers prepared by EUR or in collaboration with other departments; comments on documents prepared by other Departments, academic institutions, and other organizations. Files also contain few documents issued by the World Bank, the United Nations Development Programm (UNDP), the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), and other international organizations; newspapers clippings, press releases, bulletins, appointments of country officials and governors of the IMF, speeches, statements, and printed materials. Additionally, the files contain internal and external reports provided by the member countries, such as recent economic and political developments, policies and prospects in the country; decrees and legislations; and countries economic, financial, and fiscal data., Predominant are issues related to the use of gold, its convertibility into dollars and role in the international monetary system; membership admission; the determination & review of country quotas; country monetary policy; country exchange rate regime; the adoption of a par value system of fixed exchange rates and, after the suspension of the convertibility of gold and collapse of the system, the adoption of floating exchange rates and the surveillance exercised by the IMF on the exchange rate policies of its members; technical assistance provided by the IMF through staff missions or assignment of experts; the Consultation missions and discussions held under Articles XIV & VIII (until 1977) and IV (from 1978) of the IMF's Articles of Agreement; and the use of resources under the IMF facilities, Accounts, and Arrangements. Also, topics related to Annual Meetings; the Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union (BLEU); the Paris Club and Bilateral Payments Agreements between debtor and creditor countries, and the European Monetary System (EMS) and European Currency Unit (ECU) are present in the records. Finally, the collection witnesses few examples of initiatives undertaken by centrally planned economies (e.g., Poland, the Soviet Union, and Yugoslavia) towards a more market-oriented system.
