| A | B |
|---|
| January 1999 | when the euro made its debut |
| currency | money which is legal tender |
| euro | Europe's single currency |
| European Union | 15 countries which have committed to use the euro and do away with their national currency |
| European Currency Unit (ECU) | the euro's ancestor |
| single currency | The currency which is in use in all countries adopting it |
| monetary snake | An agreement between European countries to make their currencies more stable |
| 300.000 tons | the weight of all the coins in use in the European countries which will be replaced by new coinage |
| 11 countries | European countries which will be admitted to the initial phases of the new currency |
| EEC (European Economic Community) | was the previous name of the European Union |
| 15 countries | the number of countries which make up the European Union |
| France, Luxembourg, Italy, Belgium, the Netherlands and the Federal Republic of Germany | founding members of the European Economic Community |
| a goal of the European Union | To promote balanced and sustainable social progress by creating an area without internal borders. Strenghtening economic and social cohesion and establishing an economic and monetary union which adopts a single currency |
| Delors report | This report identifies the three phases of the European monetary union where the political objectives of the union are linked to precise deadlines |
| White Paper | A white book is an official series of proposals made in a specific political sector |
| European ombudsman | a person charged with accepting complaints made by a citizen in the Union about cases of poor administration encountered in the action of institutions or community organisms. He can undertake investigations which he considers justified and make a report to the European parliament and to the institution in question |
