ABSTRACT
On 1 January 1999, eleven countries of the EU (Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, FR Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain) entered the final stage of EMU, which led in 2002 to the replacement of the national currencies by the euro. They were joined by Greece on 1 January 2001. The participation of the remaining three countries of the Union, namely Denmark, Sweden and the UK, will depend on the outcome of referenda to be held in each country, the UK being expected to decide last.
