Representatives of 12 European Community states signed the Treaty on European Union (Maastricht), which laid out a staged plan toward Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), including convergence criteria and the commitment to create a single currency.
The Treaty on European Union entered into force, formally creating the European Union and putting the EMU timetable and institutional commitments onto a binding legal footing.
The European Monetary Institute (EMI) was created at the start of Stage Two of EMU to strengthen cooperation among national central banks and prepare the institutional and technical foundations for the single monetary policy and currency.
At the Madrid European Council, EU leaders agreed the changeover scenario confirming EMU Stage Three would start on 1999-01-01 and decided the single currency would be called the “euro.”
The Dublin European Council endorsed key elements needed for the transition to EMU Stage Three, including work on the euro’s legal framework, the future exchange-rate arrangement (later ERM II), and the Stability and Growth Pact approach to fiscal discipline.
The Amsterdam European Council reached agreement on key EMU-supporting texts (including the Stability and Growth Pact political package) to reinforce fiscal discipline ahead of the euro’s launch.
EU Member States signed the Treaty of Amsterdam, which amended the Maastricht framework (including provisions relevant to the functioning and governance context of EMU as the euro launch approached).
EU leaders decided which Member States met the conditions to adopt the euro at its launch, selecting 11 countries to enter EMU Stage Three on 1999-01-01.
The European Central Bank (ECB) was established, replacing the EMI and becoming the institution responsible for a single monetary policy once the euro started (EMU Stage Three).
On the eve of the euro’s launch, the participating currencies’ conversion rates were announced and prepared to be fixed irrevocably, a crucial step for redenominating financial contracts and systems into euros.
The euro began as a “book money” currency for financial markets, electronic payments, and accounting; national currencies became subdivisions at fixed conversion rates, with euro cash to follow later.
The Treaty of Amsterdam entered into force, updating the EU’s treaty framework during the euro’s initial non-cash phase and shaping broader governance conditions around EMU’s early operation.
Euro cash (banknotes and coins) entered circulation in 12 countries, marking the practical completion of the changeover from national cash to the common currency for everyday transactions.
After short dual-circulation periods, euro cash became the sole legal tender across the euro area, completing the withdrawal of legacy national currencies from everyday use.
Maastricht to Euro: creation of the Euro and EMU convergence (1992–2002)
