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The first ten years

1998		1999		2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008		2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	...

	Establishment of the ECB (1 June 1998)												10th anniversary of the ECB (1 June 2008)
			Introduction of the euro (1 January 1999)											10th anniversary of the euro (1 January 2009)
						Introduction of euro banknotes and coins (1 January 2002)

1998		1999		2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008		2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	...

10th anniversary of the euro and the Eurosystem

1 January 2009 was the 10th anniversary of the euro and of the Eurosystem. Exactly ten years previously

the euro was introduced, first as an electronic means of payment (the banknotes and coins came into circulation in 2002),
the ECB and the central banks of the EU countries adopting the euro came together to form the "Eurosystem", and
monetary authority for the new currency was transferred to the Governing Council of the ECB.

Today, the single currency is used in an area that stretches from Cyprus to Ireland and from Portugal to Finland. More than half of the EU's Member States have already adopted the euro.

Anniversary logos

To mark the anniversaries, a logo in three variants was produced. It combined a visual element with

"European Central Bank",
"Eurosystem", or
"European System of Central Banks",

and the legend "The first ten years".

The visual element comprises the 12 stars of the flag of the European Union in an inclined circle, partly superimposed by the numeral "10" as it appears on the front of the €10 banknote.

1 June 1998: founding of the ECB

The European Central Bank came into being on 1 June 1998. This gave it seven months to prepare for the unprecedented tasks of

replacing the currencies of a group of sovereign states with a single currency, and
devising a monetary policy for the nascent euro area.

Since that time, the ECB as the "captain" of the Eurosystem team – the central banking system of the euro area – has been conducting monetary policy for the countries in the currency union. Its primary objective is price stability over the medium term, because stable prices form the basis for sustainable economic growth and prosperity in Europe.

1 June 1998 also saw the establishment of the "European System of Central Banks", the institutional framework that comprises the ECB and the central banks of all the EU's Member States.

Anniversary events

Various events in 2008 marked the ECB's anniversary, including:

13-14 November (by invitation only): the 5th ECB Central Banking Conference - lessons and challenges of ten years of Economic and Monetary Union
2 June: the official ceremony, attended by a number of high-ranking politicians
1 June: a Visitors' Day at the ECB’s Eurotower premises

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Publications

Special edition of the ECB Monthly Bulletin, 2.2 MB

Founding fathers on the future of Europe

Transcript of the discussion