Greece will adopt the euro as from 1 January 2001, while Denmark will hold a referendum on the adoption of the euro on 28 September 2000. Sweden and the United Kingdom did not introduce the euro in their respective countries, but this may change, of course, in the future.
The birth of the euro was preceded, on 1 June 1998, by the establishment of the ECB, the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) and the Eurosystem. The ESCB is composed of the ECB and the 15 national central banks (NCBs) of all EU Member States.