Part II Developments at the EU Level, 7 The Law of the European Central Bank

At midnight tonight, the twelve national currencies of the euro area will cease to be legal tender. …[T]‌he citizens of the euro area have been…the key actors in this major step in the history of European integration. The euro area economy will undoubtedly build on this achievement in the months and years to come. Willem F Duisenberg, ECB President, Press Release (28 February 2002)1 7.01 The institutional foundations of monetary union are the euro and the European Central Bank (ECB). The latter, together with the National Central Banks (NCBs) of the EU Member...