the ECB

THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

The European Bank was established on the 1st of June 1998. It was established to be at the forefront of the change to the euro. It was made to make the currency change easier for the member countries. The ECB does not just cover one country but is the central bank of 12 different countries each with their own culture, history and economic backgrounds. The European system of Central Banks (ESCB) is composed of the European Central Bank and the National Central Banks (NCBs) of about 15 EU states.
Since the 1st of January 1999, 11 countries changed their national currency to that of the Euro; they included France, Ireland, Spain, Belgium, Italy, Finland, Portugal, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Austria and Germany. Then on the 1st of January 2001, Greece also joined. Three of the EU states have not joined and they are Denmark, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
Euro bank notes and coins were introduced on the 1st of January 2002. The introduction of a single currency...