Gianni Agnelli, Fiat and the path towards the European Economic and Monetary Union

Drawing on unpublished documents from the Historical Archives of the European Union, the Fiat Historical Archives, and the French National Archives, this article investigates the contribution of Gianni Agnelli and Fiat, the company he presided over, to the realization of the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) between 1987 and 1991. Agnelli and Fiat adopted a distinctive form of entrepreneurial activism in favor of the realization of EMU which differentiates them from the attitude of the vast majority of non-financial sector industrialists during that period. They promoted various initiatives towards the European and Italian political and industrial milieus supporting deeper economic and monetary integration and encouraging greater industrial use of the ECU. In doing so, Agnelli and Fiat contributed to shaping the public debate on the realization of EMU.