History of the euro succeeding the EMCF, under Maastricht. It was created as the forerunner to the European Central Bank. It met for the first time on 12 January under its first president, Alexandre Lamfalussy. After much disagreement, in December 1995 the name "euro" was adopted for the new currency (replacing the name "Ecu" used for the previous accounting currency), on the suggestion of then-German finance minister Theo Waigel. They also agreed on the date 1 January 1999 for its launch. On 17 June 1997 the European Council decided in Amsterdam to adopt the Stability and Growth Pact, designed to ensure budgetary discipline after
Language and the euro but the euro is popularly used, particularly by individuals wanting to convert their savings into a more stable currency. "Euro" has colloquially been pronounced in the English fashion since its inception. In response to criticism of the widespread English pronunciation of "euro", the Turkish Language Association officially introduced "avro" into Turkish ("av" being the first syllable of the Turkish word for Europe, "Avrupa") in 1998. A concerted campaign by the Turkish Language Association has begun to blossom in recent years, with most sections of the Turkish media now using the new word. It has yet to enter widespread colloquial use,