The euro makes its debut on European currency markets Jan. 4, 1999. (Reuters)

July 1999
Euro Slips to Near Parity With Dollar
Tuesday, July 13, 1999; Page E01
Europe's new single currency, the euro, slid to near parity against the U.S. dollar. It was the latest tick down in a relentless plunge since the euro started trading last Dec. 31.

Jan. 1999
Euro Makes Smooth Market Debut
Tuesday, January 5, 1999; Page A07
The euro, the new money of 11 European nations, soared off the launching pad on its first day of trading, driving European stock markets sharply upward and finishing the day slightly higher against the U.S. dollar.

European Currencies Join as One
Friday, January 1, 1999; Page A01
The dream of European monetary union became a reality when 11 European nations effectively joined their currencies into one, fixing and announcing their national exchange rates against a new currency called the euro.

Dec. 1998
The Brave, New World of Euroland
Sunday, December 27, 1998; Page A01
More than 17 centuries after the Romans attempted to establish one currency for all of Europe, 11 European nations are poised to try once again in a momentous leap of faith that monetary union will transform the continent into an economic superpower.

Dutchman Plays Key Role in 'Euroland'
Tuesday, December 15, 1998; Page D01
Willem F. Duisenberg, the 63-year-old Dutchman who heads the European Central Bank, is not the most powerful man in the world. But the five-month-old institution he heads soon will have more control over the economy of Europe than any other in history.

Nov. 1998
Penny-Wise and Euro-Ready in England
Monday, November 30, 1998; Page A21
Down in London, the politicians are hemming and hawing about the single European currency. But in England's industrial heartland, people already have a clear idea of the value of the euro.

July 1998
Grand Opening for Europe's Central Bank
Wednesday, July 1, 1998; Page C13
European leaders celebrated the birth of the European Central Bank, which will serve as guardian of the single currency known as the euro when it goes into effect at the start of next year.

May 1998
Markets Endorse Euro Despite Its Shaky Start
Tuesday, May 5, 1998; Page A16
Investors ignored the shaky start of Europe's new single currency system and poured their money into European markets. It was a surprising conclusion to a tumultuous meeting in which leaders chose 11 countries to participate in monetary union, and squabbled over selecting the head of the new European Central Bank.

Double Trouble for Europe's Computers
Tuesday, May 5, 1998; Page D1
As the 20th century draws to a close, Europe is wrestling with not one but two computer repair jobs of epic proportions. One is the familiar challenge of fixing the "millennium bug." The second job is distinctly European: the reprogramming of millions of computers to accept the euro, the unified currency that is set for introduction on Jan. 4.

Recriminations Mar Launching of Euro
Monday, May 4, 1998; Page A12
The angry dispute between France and Germany that delayed the birth of Europe's new currency for 11 hours may exact a price both political and economic, analysts said. By agreeing to a last-minute compromise over naming the head of the new European Central Bank, the leaders of Europe may have dampened the appeal of their long-planned money.

Europeans Overcome Dispute to Launch Euro
Sunday, May 3, 1998; Page A1
The leaders of the European Union anointed 11 countries as members of Europe's new single currency, but only after an unseemly wrangle between France and Germany that briefly threatened to throw the euro off-track.

April 1998
Europe Banking on Marriage of Money
Tuesday, April 28, 1998; Page A1
The leaders of Europe plan to take the first concrete steps toward abandoning their national currencies in favor of the euro. The process will not be completed until 2002, but it will take on an irreversible nature as 11 countries sign up on May 2.

Germany Approves Adoption of Euro
Friday, April 24, 1998; Page A19
In a historic vote that will abolish a symbol of Germany's postwar resurrection, the nation's legislature overwhelmingly approved a plan to phase out the mark in favor of a single European currency.

Opinion: Europeans Can't Even Agree on a Time for Lunch
Sunday, April 19, 1998; Page C1
Say what you may about common markets, single currencies and the dawn of a unified Europe: Can a continent that can't agree on a single phone jack agree on a common future?

Chirac Counters Euroskeptics
Friday, April 17, 1998; Page A28
Less than a week before the legislature is to vote on joining Europe's planned single currency, French President Jacques Chirac said that a united Europe will give France "the force and the means to defend its interests and realize its ambitions."

Challenging the Almighty Dollar
Thursday, April 16, 1998; Page E1
Many European companies that now use dollars as the basis of their contracts have indicated a willingness to switch to euros if the currency functions well. Those decisions may have a powerful effect on the United States, ending the world domination of the U.S. dollar.

German High Court Paves Way for Euro
Friday, April 3, 1998; Page D1
Germany's highest court removed the last major obstacle to the creation of a single European currency by ruling that two legal challenges to block its introduction were groundless.

Pitfalls Line Path to Euro, Analysts Say
Wednesday, April 1, 1998; Page A21
Europe's single-currency plan will take effect in January, when the euro becomes a currency in the financial sense. The actual notes and coins will be introduced over a six-month period starting Jan. 1, 2002. Despite a carefully choreographed timetable, the euro will have many chances to go awry in the months and years to come.

March 1998
Prospective Euro Members Warned
Thursday, March 26, 1998; Page A32
Just over a month before the nation-participants in Europe's single currency are chosen, the body that will govern them warned that more effort is needed to make the new currency, the euro, a success.

Feb. 1998
Three Nations Make Euro Deficit Goal
Saturday, February 28, 1998; Page A15
In a display of budgetary discipline deemed impossible just a few months ago, France, Germany and Italy announced today that they had met the tough budget-deficit target for the planned European single currency.

Currency Conflict Mirrors Europe's Shifting Politics
Tuesday, February 17, 1998; Page A08
In many ways, the struggle to ease anxieties over a single currency, immigration, cross-border crime and continental defenses may reflect the failure of Europe's traditional movements to adapt their message to modern priorities.

Euro Divides, Adds Up to Trouble
Monday, February 16, 1998; Page A19
As the nations of Europe take the first concrete steps toward currency union this year, their airwaves and news columns are filled with speculation about what the new money might mean for the economy, for governments, for commerce.

Jan. 1998
Can Portugal Survive the Euro?
Friday, January 30, 1998; Page A25
Portugal will be the poorest country in Europe to be part of the first round of European Monetary Union, the instrument of the Europe's plans for a single currency. Some Portuguese smell trouble.

Will the Euro Stop Here?
Tuesday, January 13, 1998; Page A10
A group of prominent economists filed a petition with Germany's highest court seeking to block plans for a single European currency on the grounds that it would violate the nation's postwar constitution.

Switching Gears, Britain Leads Cheers for a United Europe
Saturday, January 10, 1998; Page A14
On Jan. 1, Britain assumed the European Union's rotating presidency. Prime Minister Tony Blair has been working hard to prove that the hostility to Europe so often shown by Britain's former Conservative government is gone.

1997
Opinion: Historic Gamble on the Euro
Thursday, December 18, 1997; Page A27
Asia's serial currency collapses are stirring short-term queasiness in Europe over investment risks and lost exports. But Asia's money troubles also inspire European business and political leaders to utter: We told you so. We told you, that is, that the world needed a second zone of monetary and financial stability to balance and restrain the American dollar.

Britain Rules Out Joining Monetary Union Before Next Century
Tuesday, October 28, 1997; Page A17
The British government decided against joining the European single-currency union until after the next national election early in the coming century, but Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown said Britain should prepare to join soon after that if conditions appear favorable for the country's economy.

Now You Can Bet Your Bottom Euro on a Currency Merger
Monday, October 13, 1997; Page A1
Four months ago, much of Europe's plan to merge its many currencies into one was in trouble. With the crucial date for choosing members of the new currency program less than eight months away, chances have never been better that it will arrive on schedule.

Unity Drive Is Faltering in Western Europe
Friday, July 4, 1997; Page A1
Within two years, Europeans will be asked to both expand their defense commitments up to the borders of the former Soviet Union and to trade in their home currencies for the euro. Although both have been discussed for years, Europeans only now seem to be awakening to the impact these changes will have on their lives. Many are unenthusiastic.

France's New Leaders Slow European Currency Drive
Tuesday, June 10, 1997; Page A27
France's new Socialist government threw a wrench into the continental plan to introduce the new money by 1999: The new finance minister said that France has problems with a portion of the money plan.

Italy Irked at Idea It May Not Qualify for Euro
Friday, April 25, 1997; Page A31
Anyone who doubts this continent's fixation on the coming European single currency has only to read an Italian newspaper. Sample headlines: "Europe's Insult" and "Europe Rejects Italy." Italy is reeling from a preliminary report predicting it will not be able to meet the economic criteria for entry into the club of the euro.

Pre-1997
A Euro as Strong as the Mark
Monday, December 2, 1996; Page A15
Hans Tietmeyer may wield greater power than any president or prime minister in Europe. Tietmeyer is chairman of Germany's Bundesbank, which helps determine the value of the mark in international markets, and – in an era when Europeans are converging toward the euro – the fate of other currencies on the continent.

Europe's Plan for Monetary Union at Risk
Saturday, July 31, 1993; Page A1
A massive wave of speculation against the French franc put pressure on the French government to devalue its currency, a move that could crush Europe's fading dream of achieving monetary union.

Europe's Leap Toward Unity in '93 Falls Short
Thursday, December 31, 1992; Page A1
It was supposed to be Europe's boldest leap toward a unified continent. On New Year's Day 1993, all borders would vanish among the 12 nations of the European Community, permitting the free flow of people, money, and goods. But reality may turn out to be much different: The Community will fall short this week of achieving of a "Europe without frontiers."

Wide Currency Crisis Jolts Europe
Thursday, September 17, 1992; Page A1
Europe was shaken by one of its worst financial crises since World War II, as deepening anxiety about a global recession and lack of coordination among leading industrialized economies sent currency markets spinning. Britain suspended its participation in the European monetary system.

Europeans Agree on Unity Pacts
Wednesday, December 11, 1991; Page A1
Seeking to secure their common future, the 12 nations of the European Community took their boldest step toward creating a united Europe. After marathon talks, EC members approved two wide-ranging treaties – one political, the other economic – that will create a single European currency and move the member countries toward common defense, foreign and economic policies.