Greece has applied to join the single European currency, the euro. If accepted Greece would bring the number of countries in the eurozone to a dozen. Also on Thursday, Denmark launched a campaign for membership, to end in a nationwide vote on the issue in September. Sweden is holding a special congress at the weekend to decide whether to join. And even the UK, still yet to give a firm decision on membership, announced it was spending 20m to update its computers in case it takes the plunge.
Today is an historic moment for the country.
The EU leaders are expected to approve Greece's application at their meeting in Portugal in July. The admittance will take effect from January 2001. Greece is a member of the European Union, but was not allowed into the monetary union because of its high inflation and budget deficit earlier in the decade. It is the first applicant since the 11 EU nations merged their currencies at the start of last year. Analysts say it provides a boost for the fledgling currency, which has had a traumatic existence so far.