Claim: European Monetary Institute (less than 250 staff) which met for the first time on 12 January took over from the earlier European Monetary Cooperation Fund ad dissolved in 2000.
Evidence: The European Monetary Institute (EMI) was the forerunner of the European Central Bank (ECB), operating between 1994 and 1997. The EMI was created 1 January 1994 to oversee the second stage in the creation of monetary union. The EMI met for the first time on 12 January under its first President, Alexandre Lamfalussy. The institute was dissolved on 1 June 1998 with the creation of the ECB and the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) which took over its expanded responsibilities as the euro was launched.