EURO COUNTRIES

The Spanish Postal Administretion ¡s releasing a 12-etamp mini-sheet in recognítíon of the Euro. Since January 1st, 1999 the European single currency has come into force in the eleven ceuntries which form part of the Economíc and Monetary Union.

The name Euro was adopted by the European Council in the summit held ín Madrid in 1995. This currency is divided ín one hundred fractíonal units called Cent and its official abbreviation is "EUR". According to forecasts, the Euro will help to avoid exchange rate fluctuations and it wíll contribute to create international and more stable monetary relations.

The setting-up process of the Economic and Monetary Union was organized in three phases, and the third stage started on January 1st this year. On that date Spain, together with Germany, Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Holland, lreland, Italy, Luxembourg and Portugal adopted the Euro as official currency in order to be used in financial operatíens which do not require cash, and only for electronic transactions. The exchange rate has efficially been fixed for each country by the European Central Bank, and that of Spain is 166,386 pesetas per Euro.

Three significant periods have been scheduled in order to introduce the Euro definitely. The first comprises since January 1st, 1999 until January 1st, 2002 and it will mean the introduction of the Euro as official currency. Another outstanding period will embrace the first six months of the year 2002, when the Euro will be able to be used in any kind of financial operation and it will be able to pay in cash in domestic currencies and in Euros. Finally on July 1st, 2002 local currencies will definitely be withdrawn from circulation and the Euro will become the single legal tender in the Economic and Monetary Union countries.

The míni-sheet now being released ¡s comprised of 12 stamps. The first bears the community flag, and the remaining eleven stamps show the outlines of the eleven Euro countries with the colours of theír flags and the exchange rates of their domestic currencies. The symbol of the single currency, which is inspired by the Greek letter epsilon and ¡s the first letter of the word Europe, is on the background. The double horizontal line symbolizes the new currency stability.