Coin set BU "Baby"

Economic and Monetary Union dates back to a multi-stage process of European integration. A central legal basis was the Treaty of Maastricht (Vertrag von Maastricht), which laid down rules for the transition to a common currency. States wishing to participate had to meet the so-called convergence criteria. These concerned, among other things, price stability, the budget deficit, public debt, long-term interest rates and exchange-rate stability. The aim of these requirements was to limit economic differences before the common monetary policy began.

At the launch of the monetary union, the exchange rates of the currencies of eleven member states were irrevocably fixed. The euro initially existed as a book-entry, payment and financial-market currency. Banknotes and coins of the former national currencies continued to be used in everyday life for the time being. Euro cash was not introduced until the beginning of 2002; the national means of payment were subsequently withdrawn from circulation within short transitional periods. Greece had already joined the monetary union in 2001, and further states followed after fulfilling the requirements.

The Eurosystem is responsible for the monetary policy of the euro area. It consists of the European Central Bank and the national central banks of the participating states. Its tasks include, in particular, setting the key interest rates and safeguarding price stability. Fiscal and budgetary policy, by contrast, remained largely with the individual states. The monetary union thus combines centrally organised monetary policy with nationally managed public budgets.

The anniversary therefore did not refer to the later introduction of cash, but to the beginning of the common monetary order. The issue as a joint project reflected the cross-border character of the occasion: in 2009, following Slovakia’s accession, 16 states belonged to the euro area. Citizens of the European Union (Europäische Union) were able to decide on the design in an online vote. Following the 2007 joint issue for the 50th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome (Römischen Verträge), the coin was the second 2-euro commemorative issue with a common design by several euro-area states.