5. During the second stage, each Member State shall, as appropriate, start the  process leading to the independence of its central bank, in accordance with Article  108.

Article 109f

1. At the start of the second stage, a European Monetary Institute ( hereinafter  referred to as EMI ' ) shall be established and take up its duties; it shall have legal  personality and be directed and managed by a Council, consisting of a President and  the Governors of the national central banks, one of whom shall be Vice President.

The President shall be appointed by common accord of the governments of the  Member States at the level of Heads of State or Government, on a recommendation  from, as the case may be, the Committee of Governors of the central banks of the  Member States ( hereinafter referred to as 'Committee of Governors' ) or the Council  of the EMI, and after consulting the European Parliament and the Council. The  President shall be selected from among persons of recognized standing and  professional experience in monetary or banking matters. Only nationals of Member  States may be President of the EMI. The Council of the EMI shall appoint the Vice  President.

The Statute of the EMI is laid down in a Protocol annexed to this Treaty.

The Committee of Governors shall be dissolved at the start of the second stage.

2. The EMI shall:

strengthen cooperation between the national central banks;

strengthen the coordination of the monetary policies of the Member States, with  the aim of ensuring price stability;

monitor the functioning of the European Monetary System;

hold consultations concerning issues falling within the competence of the  national central banks and affecting the stability of financial institutions and  markets;

take over the tasks of the European Monetary Cooperation Fund, which shall be  dissolved; the modalities of dissolution are laid down in the Statute of the EMI;  facilitate the use of the ECU and oversee its development, including the smooth  functioning of the ECU clearing system.

3. For the preparation of the third stage, the EMI shall:

prepare the instruments and the procedures necessary for carrying out a single  monetary policy in the third stage;

promote the harmonization, where necessary, of the rules and practices  governing the collection, compilation and distribution of statistics in the areas  within its field of competence;

prepare the rules for operations to be undertaken by the national central banks  within the framework of the ESCB;

promote the efficiency of cross border payments;

supervise the technical preparation of ECU banknotes.

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