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■    additional responsibilities were given to the Committee of Govemors of the central banks of the Member States of EEC (coordination of the monetary policies of the Member States, with the aim of achieving price stability);

■    Treaty revision was required;

Stage II

■    Starts with the establishment of Enropean Monetary Instimte (EMI) - January 1, 1994;

■    EMI had no responsibility for the conduct of monetary policy in the European Union nor had it any competence forcarrying out foreign exchange intervention;

The two main tasks of the EMI:

■to strengthen central bank cooperation and monetary policy co-ordination,

■to make the preparations reqnired for the establishment of the European System of Central Banks

(ESCB), for the conduct of the single monetary policy and for the creation of a single cutTency in the

tliird stage;

■    Dec. 1995 - European Council madę a decision conceming the name of new cutTency -EURO. confirmed that Stage Three of EMU would start on January 1, 1999;

■    December 1996 - Resolution of the European Council on the principles and fundamenta] elements of the new exchange ratę mechanism (ERM II), the selected design series for the euro banknotes was presented (scheduled for release January 1, 2002);

■    June 1997 - European Council adopted the Stability and Growth Pact, which aims to ensure budgetary discipline in respect of EMU;

■    May 1998 - the Council - in the composition of H eads of State or Govemment - unanimously decided that 11 Member States had fulfilled the conditions necessary for tlie participation in the tliird stage of EMU and the adopńon of tlie single currency on 1 January 1999 (Belgium, Germany, Spain, France. Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netlierlands, Austria, Portugal and Finland);

■    June 1998 - establishment of the ECB, EM I completed its tasks;

Stage III

■    January 1, 1999 - irrevocable fixing of the exchange rates of tlie cutTencies of tlie 11 Member States and with the conduct of a single monetaly policy under the responsibility of the ECB;

■    January 1. 2001 -Greece enters EMU;

■    Januaiy 1. 2007 - Slovenia;

■    January 1. 2008 - Cypnis and Malta;

■    January 1. 2009 - Slovakia;

January 1. 2011 - Estonia;