The euro: a cohesion and harmonization instrument of the accounting and management policy of European Union countries

Abstract

The Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) constitutes a framework for economic growth and stability, which, on January 1st, 1999, entered its third stage. The euro is the designation of the single currency, approved by the European Council in Madrid, that replaced the ECU, used in the Maastricht Treaty. The introduction of the single currency has come as the necessary complement to the sustainability and broadening of the single market. The Portuguese public sector plays a fundamental role in the economic stability, making the timely definition of the process of adaptation to the euro fundamental to the stability of the whole public administration. The adoption of the single currency does not constitute a problem, but a challenge that allowed us to re-think choices and procedures.