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Background to the Euro
History of the Euro
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Our new currency has
been years in the making.
The Treaty of Rome (1957) declared a common European market as a
European objective with the aim of increasing economic prosperity and contributing to
"an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe".
The Single European Act (1986) and the Treaty on European Union (1992) have
built on this, introducing Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and laying the foundations
for our single currency.
The third stage of EMU began on 1 January 1999, when the exchange rates
of the participating currencies were irrevocably set. Euro area Member States began
implementing a common monetary policy, the euro was introduced as a legal currency and the
11 currencies of the participating Member States became subdivisions of the euro. Greece
joined on 1 January 2001 and so 12 Member States introduced the new euro banknotes and
coins at the beginning of this year.
The successful development of the euro is central to the realisation of
a Europe in which people, services, capital and goods can move freely.
This is history in the making. It is the largest monetary
changeover the world has ever seen – join us in celebrating and finding out more about
our new currency.
(European Central Bank web page)
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