Unit V

THE EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK

The ECB was established on 1 June 1998 and is based in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Its main task is to maintain price stability and to conduct a single monetary policy across the euro area. It pursues this objective in cooperation with the national central banks. Together, the ECB and the national central banks from the euro area are known as the Eurosystem.
The euro became the common currency of more than 300 million Europeans on 1 January 1999.

This was the final step in the world´s largest ever monetary changeover.
The successful development of the euro contributes to a Europe in which people, services, capital and goods can move freely.

The banknotes and coins first went into circulation on 1 January 2002. Today, euro banknotes and coins are legal tender in 12 of the 25 European Union (EU) Member States. These 12 countries form the euro area.