I'm the Dauphin in France

Chapter 855 Iberia-Apennines Summit III
Genoa Governor Abiaso was born into a business family and reacted the fastest. He immediately stood up and said:
"Your Highness, I believe that the Reserve Bank of France is well suited to undertake this responsibility."

Joseph was very satisfied with his performance. He smiled and motioned him to sit down, then shook his head and said:
“This is a bank that serves the common market and it is not appropriate for a French bank to serve as such.

“I suggest that all member states jointly invest to establish a Mediterranean bank. Each country will obtain shares in the bank in proportion to its investment.

“The bank will not conduct ordinary deposit and loan operations, but will focus only on settlements between member countries and national-level loans.”

Upon hearing this, representatives from various countries nodded one after another, and they admired France's magnanimity even more.

Such a bank that manages cross-border trade settlements is bound to have a huge influence, and may even determine the prosperity or decline of a country's trade.

France actually allows all member states to invest together and participate in management. This level of sincerity is something that even its own brothers may not be able to do!

There was an immediate burst of praise from all around.

Joseph raised his hand to signal everyone to be quiet, and continued:
“In order to regulate the operations of the Mediterranean Bank and also to facilitate trade settlements and loans within the common market, I believe it is necessary to designate a currency as the standard settlement currency.

“When countries conduct international trade, they all use standard currencies to pay each other, which is not only efficient but also less likely to cause trade disputes.

“Each country can set the exchange rate between its own currency and the standard currency, and the Mediterranean Bank will convert at this rate when settling accounts.”

In this era, gold and silver coins are still the main currencies, so there is no need to worry about exchange rate manipulation.

It was still the Governor of Genoa who spoke first: "The standard currency should and can only be the franc. All of our countries have a very large volume of trade with France, and using the franc is the most convenient."

Joseph then smiled and nodded, then looked around at everyone and asked, "Who agrees with Governor Abiaso's suggestion, and who opposes?"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Anyway, francs can be exchanged for gold at any time at the French Reserve Bank, so what's the problem with using them for trade settlement?
Moreover, various French products are sold well in Italy, and even if they are not exchanged for gold, they can be used to purchase goods.

Joseph had expected that there would be an "I object" phase, but he did not expect it to go so smoothly. He announced with satisfaction:

"Then, according to everyone's wishes, we will use francs for trade settlement. Regarding the preparations for the Mediterranean Bank, we also ask all countries to send financial representatives as soon as possible so that it can be started as soon as possible."

In this way, after very simple consultations, the franc officially took the throne of the national settlement currency.

This day is destined to leave a significant mark in French history.

But for most of the national representatives attending the meeting, they had no idea what this meant.

After all, currency wars were a concept that had never existed before…

At the end of a whole day's summit, everyone was talking to each other excitedly or expectantly, and they gathered around Joseph and walked out of the conference hall.

That night, at the court ball at the Palace of Versailles, Archbishop Briand was surrounded by delegations from various countries and was barely able to dance a single dance.

After the meeting, representatives from various countries began to have their own ideas. Some wanted to invest more shares in the Mediterranean Bank, such as the wealthy Genoa, and some wanted to book a development loan, such as the poor Spain.

Well, even though Spain shipped back shiploads of silver from South America, its own industries were in decline, its agriculture was backward, and its nobles were accustomed to extravagance, so it had a huge deficit every year.

Brian was still followed by a large group of people until he returned to his residence.

At one o'clock in the morning, he tiredly saw off his last guest, the Speaker of the Milan Parliament.

He rubbed his aching waist, but couldn't help but sigh in his heart, how did His Royal Highness the Crown Prince come up with these miraculous methods, almost in one day, to unite these countries closely around France. And they were all happy to do it.

He subconsciously made the sign of the cross on his chest and murmured, "Thank God for sending the Son of God to France."

The next day, representatives from various countries walked into the Tuileries Palace on the red carpet to the sound of the band.

The Iberian-Apennine Summit continues.

Joseph first envisioned the broad future of the common market, and then changed the subject and said:
“When we become prosperous, there will inevitably be some evil countries that will threaten the common market by offering them unreasonable trade preferences, or even directly stretch their claws to our wealth.

"In order to protect our common market and each of the member states, I propose the creation of an Iberian-Apennine Security and Defence Organization.

"When any member state is invaded, all countries in the organization are obliged to provide military support. At the same time, when the common market is at risk of being destroyed, the Security Defense Organization will also call on the armies of the member states to launch an appropriate counterattack."

Before he finished speaking, representatives from all countries except Spain showed signs of retreat in their eyes.

It sounds like the French Crown Prince wants to form a military alliance.

The small countries in northern Italy do not want to tie themselves to the French chariot.

Mainly those countries that could become France's enemies, they can't afford to offend them.

If France were to declare war on countries like Britain, Prussia, and Austria, and drag them into the war, they might end up being destroyed...

Joseph had expected such a scene, and immediately said in a relaxed tone:

“The security and defense organization is managed by a staff independent of all countries. Staff officers are sent by all member states, and officials from each country take turns to serve as chief of staff for a term of one year.

"All actions of the Security Defense Organization must be approved by the General Staff. Major decisions, such as going to war, require a vote by all member states."

The representatives of the northern Italian states looked at each other and seemed relieved.

If whether to go to war or not is decided by everyone voting, then obviously small countries like ours will have more votes, so we will definitely be able to avoid being involved in a war between big powers.

Joseph continued:
"Another important function of the Security and Defence Organization is to mediate conflicts between member states. When diplomatic disputes arise between member states, they can appeal to the Security and Defence Organization.

"It is forbidden for member states to use military forces before the security organization makes a ruling."

This time, representatives from small countries began to get restless.

This is equivalent to France's security commitment to them.

At the same time, it can also prevent neighboring countries from sending troops to threaten itself.

The threshold for declaring war in this era is very low, and small countries are all trembling with fear and treading on thin ice.

If you have this security organization to rely on, you can rest assured in the future.

We don't have to follow France in external wars, and we can ensure our own safety internally. It seems that this security organization is worth joining.

(End of this chapter)