On 1 January 1999 Stage Three of Economic and Monetary Union began with the irrevocable fixing of the exchange rates of the currencies of the 11 Member States initially forming the euro area. The number of countries participating in Economic and Monetary Union has grown over the years.
Today, the euro banknotes and coins are legal tender in 16 of the 27 Member States of the European Union and are used daily by almost 330 million citizens in the euro area. The single currency is used in an area that stretches from Cyprus to Ireland and from Portugal to Finland. We are actually celebrating another anniversary this year.