Four new member states - Estonia, Lithuania, Slovenia and Cyprus - have indicated that they intend to take the first steps towards eventual adoption of the euro by the end of this year, leading to final adoption in late 2006.
This first step is an application to join the so-called Exchange Rate Mechanism II (ERM II). Inside this mechanism, a member state's currency must remain stable against the euro for a period of two years.
After participation in ERM II, other economic criter...
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