Euro#
Euro, common currency of the member countries of the Economic and Monetary Union (Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain), introduced on the basis of the Treaty of Maastricht (1992) as from January 1, 1999, initially only as deposit money and accounting unit (replacing the Ecu); Euro coins and notes will first be issued on January 1 2002 (1 Euro = 100 Euro-Cents). The Schilling exchange rate was set at 1 Euro = ATS 13,7603 on December 31, 1998. The conduct of the monetary policies of the Economic and Monetary Union was entrusted to the European Central Bank in 1998. This has led to a number of changes in Austria, including a modification of the competences of the Austrian Nationalbank.
Literature#
Duden-Redaktion (Ed.), Der Euro, 1998.