2) CREATION OF THE EUROPEAN MONETARY UNION
5) THE STRUCTURE OF THE ECB AND ESCB
7) HOW DOES IT AFFECT THE UNITED STATES?
8) THE CURRENT SITUATION AND FUTURE OF THE EURO
On January 1, 1999 the eleven countries that make up the European
Monetary Union (EMU) officially adopted the Euro as the single currency for the
economic region. Currently the participating countries of the EMU are Germany,
France, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Finland, Austria, Spain,
Portugal, Italy and Ireland. The United Kingdom, Denmark, Sweden, and Greece
have not yet joined the EMU, but they are still part of the European Union (EU).
Greece did no meet the requirements to become a member of the EMU and the
UK, Denmark and Sweden chose not to join, yet.
January 4, 1999 marked the actual first working day and thus the eleven
countries were permanently linked to the Euro and each other. The Euro, whose
symbol is €, entered the market on that first day at the value of $1.186 U.S.
dollars and steadily depreciated to $1.03 in early June of 1999. This depreciation
came to a surprise to those who thought that the Euro may hold strong against
the dollar, but that was not the case. Some believe that part of the reason is due
to the strength of the U.S. economy.
It hasn't been since the fall of the Roman Empire since much of Western
Europe has had a single currency. The idea of a single currency for Europe isn't
new. Since the end of World War II the idea of a single European Currency
surfaced. French Leaders Jean Monnet and Robert Schuman agreed that
European economic integration was a key of embracing Germany and keeping
them oriented towards the ways of the west. German political leaders such as
Konrad Adenauer, Helmut Kohl, and Gerhard Schroeder have backed the
integration along with the French, though almost entirely through economic and
Although the Euro has officially b...