释义 |
European Monetary Union (EMU) The establishment of a common currency for member states of the European Union. The Maastricht Treaty specified three stages for achieving EMU, starting with participation in the Exchange Rate Mechanism. The second stage created the European Monetary Institute, which coordinated the economic and monetary policy of member states. The third stage, achieved by January 1999, locked member states into a fixed exchange rate, activated the European Central Bank, and introduced the single currency, the euro (divided into 100 cents), for all noncash transactions (national currencies continued in use for cash transactions). In 2002 euro notes and coins came into circulation in those states within the system. |