Who manages the euro?
When the euro came into being, monetary policy became the responsibility of the independent European Central Bank (ECB), which was created for that purpose, and the national central banks of the Member States having adopted the euro. Together they compose the Eurosystem. Fiscal policy (tax and spending) remains in the hands of individual national governments – though they undertake to adhere to commonly agreed rules on public finances known as the Stability and Growth Pact. They also retain full responsibility for their own structural policies (labour, pension and capital markets), but agree to co-ordinate them in order to achieve the common goals of stability, growth and employment. Who uses it? The euro is the currency of the 329 million people who live in the 16 euro-area countries. It is also used, either formally as legal tender or for practical purposes, by a whole array of other countries such as close neighbours and former colonies. It is therefore not surprising that the euro
