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Forward
With the euro now in our pockets, more than 300 million European citizens are connecting with the European Central Bank (ECB) in everyday life.The new currency essentially performs the three classic functions of money ? a medium of exchange, a store of value and a unit of account ? but it is much more than that.
The start of Stage Three of Economic and Monetary Union on 1 January 1999 marked the opening of a new chapter in the history of European integration. Over the subsequent three years, mainly banking professionals and traders in financial markets were able to embrace the new European currency. But when the euro banknotes and coins entered into circulation on 1 January 2002, the momentous changes became clear for everyone. The euro is the most tangible symbol of a common ?European identity? to date, and naturally it has a strong impact on economic developments throughout the euro area.
All this is the product of bold and visionary political decisions which also led to the establishment of the ECB. The national central banks of the 12 euro area countries and the ECB together constitute an entity we call the ?Eurosystem?, the primary objective of which is to maintain price stability in the euro area.
Being at the heart of this entity, the ECB places great emphasis on effective communication with the public.We want to explain what our objectives are, how we attain them and what challenges we face.This can indeed be a challenge in itself, trying to put our message across in the complex environment of many cultures, languages and traditions.After all, we need to be understood by the population of an area stretching across the entire continent, from the Arctic Circle to the Mediterranean. In all our communication activities, therefore, we try to abide by the principles of openness and transparency, sharing with the public information on which the ECB bases its decisions.
This brochure gives information about the euro and the tasks of the ECB and the Eurosystem. It is part of our efforts to provide basic information to citizens in an accessible manner. I trust that it will go some way towards achieving our objective.
Contents
1. THE EURO Europe's new currency
2. CORNERSTONE The European Central Bank
3. STRUCTURE The Eurosystem
4. STABILITY Stable Prices
5. INDEPENDENCE The ECB's Position
6. TRANSPARENCY Credibility and accountability
7. TOOLBOX Strategy and instruments
8. GLOSSARY Explanation of keywords
Down full document here.
Source: European Central Bank
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