Introduction 

In May 1998, the Heads of State or Government of the European Union (EU) Member States confirmed that eleven Member States qualified to form Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and adopt a single currency, the euro, from 1 January 1999. The eleven are Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. On 31 December 1998 the Council of Economic and Finance Ministers irrevocably fixed the conversion rates to apply between the currencies of these Member States and the euro, and on 1 January 1999 the euro came into being.

The formation of EMU and the creation of the euro were the culmination of a process of preparation which had been going on since the signing in 1992 of the Treaty on European Union (the Maastricht Treaty). EMU is one of the most far-reaching steps in the history of the European enterprise. Internally, the single currency will contribute to a greater sense of common purpose and common endeavour among the peoples of the European Union; externally, it will strengthen the Union's ability to play a role in the world commensurate with its economic and political importance.