Part VI Monetary Unions and other Forms of Monetary Organization, 32 Withdrawal from the Eurozone

32.01 At the time of its inception, there can be no doubt that the introduction of the euro had to be seen as a highly successful exercise. The single currency came into being on 1 January 1999, precisely in accordance with the terms of the EC Treaty as then in force. Upon their introduction at the beginning of 2002, physical notes and coins were distributed across the eurozone very rapidly and smoothly indeed, and national notes and coins were withdrawn from circulation even more quickly than had originally been contemplated. Given both the enormous implications...