On this day in history in 1998, during negotiations that lasted well past midnight, European Union members agreed to adopt a common currency: the euro.

Negotiations had been long and arduous, having begun almost three decades earlier when members of the European Economic Community (EEC) had met in Den Haag, Netherlands, to launch an economic and monetary union. Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands were the original six members. Finally, in 1991, European leaders set up the European Union (EU) by signing the Maastricht Treaty. It took seven more years, before the European Union elected the eleven countries that would initially participate in the new currency. On May 2, 1998, Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, West Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain became the first member countries to adopt the euro. They had to meet strict criteria such as budget deficit limitations, debt ratio limitations, low inflation, and interest rate limitations. Greece failed to meet the criteria; Denmark, Sweden and Great Britain elected not to participate.

The May 2 accord almost faltered when most member countries voted for Wim Duisenburg of the Netherlands to become the first president of the European Central Bank. The French insisted on their own candidate, Jean-Claude Trichet. An agreement was finally reached when Mr. Duisenberg hinted that he might resign half way through his term in office. He cited his advanced age. Then, on midnight of January 1, 1999, the euro was launched as an electronic currency. It became legal tender on January 1, 2002.

For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on the home page of http://www.walled-in-berlin.com. Walled-In is a story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War.