CONTENTS 1) INTRODUCTION - JANUARY 1, 1999 2) CREATION OF THE EUROPEAN MONETARY UNION 3) THE MAASTRICHT TREATY 4) WHY A SINGLE CURRENCY? 5) THE STRUCTURE OF THE ECB AND ESCB 6) POSSIBLE PROBLEMS 7) HOW DOES IT AFFECT THE UNITED STATES? 8) THE CURRENT SITUATION AND FUTURE OF THE EURO 9) CONCLUSION INTRODUCTION - JANUARY 1, 1999 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...