European Commission expert group report "The Development of a European Capital Market" stressed the need for convergence and harmonization in financial regulation.

Creation of the Monetary Snake - to limit the movement between the exchange rates within Europe

Abortive attempt to create European Monetary Cooperation Fund (EMCF) to support the snake

European Monetary System had as one of its 3 objectives to prepare European monetary unification through co-operation

Single European Act became essentially a new constitution for Europe and included the following aspirations

• "the community will adopt measures routed to the progressive establishment of the single market during a period that will conclude 31st December, 1992..."
• "an area without frontiers in which the free goods movement, persons, services and capital will be assured".

The Delors Report.  Jaques Delores foresaw full financial integration within Europe as a precondition for a single European currency

Treaty of Maastricht set out a plan and timetable for European Monetary Union

Final agreement on timetable for new currency.  The name Euro was adopted

EU directive 97/5 laid down minimum standards for cross-border credit transfers within Europe

European Council of Brussels - Confirmed the 11 countries (Greece decided later to participate) which would form the Eurozone, created the European Central Bank (ECB), and created the European System of Central Banks(ESCB), the latter being a linkage between national central banks and the ECB.

Launch of the Euro currency

Regulation 2560/2001 limited the bank charges on cross-border credit transfers and card transactions to the same charge as domestic transactions of a similar type

Euro notes and coin introduced

Banks meet to develop strategy - outcome is "Euroland - Our single payment area"

European Payments Council (EPC) formed to progress single payments area strategy

After a long consultation period, EU adopted a proposal for a directive on a New Legal Framework for payments in the internal market.  To date (Feb 2007), this directive has not passed into legislation

National banking associations submit national plans for SEPA to EPC

SEPA schemes rulebooks publicly available for Credit Transfer, Direct Debit.  Also the framework for the PEACH clearing

ECB 4^th review "Towards a single Euro payments area"

Use of IBAN and BIC became compulsory for cross-border euro credit transfers

Payment Service Directive (PSD) passed through the European Parliament

Launch of SEPA Credit Transfer, SEPA Cards Framework

End of consultation period on transposition of PSD into Irish Law