The Council of Member States Meeting the Euro Criteria

On May 3, 1998, the European Parliament approved the Council’s recommendation for the Member States that met the criteria for the Third Stage of EMU and the adoption of the euro. At this stage, 11 Member States (Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, and Finland) had fulfilled these criteria. On May 3, 2000, the European Commission published a report on the efforts of Greece and Sweden to meet the necessary economic convergence criteria, as they were not among the 11 Member States that adopted the euro as an accounting currency from January 1, 1999. The Council Regulation of May 3, 1998, stipulates that from January 1, 2002, the euro will be put into circulation in coins and banknotes for the eurozone Member States.