Euro Launched as Accounting Currency in 11 States

The euro was introduced as an electronic accounting currency in eleven EU member states (Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain) with exchange rates irrevocably fixed. The European Central Bank (ECB), established in June 1998, assumed responsibility for monetary policy. Denmark, Sweden, and the UK exercised opt-outs. Greece joined the Eurozone in 2001.