The founding members of the EMS

The founding members of the EMS in 1979 were Belgium, Denmark, France, West Germany (reunified with East Germany after 1990 as the Federal Republic of Germany), Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, The Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. Of these, all but the United Kingdom agreed to participate in the ERM; the United Kingdom joined the ERM in 1990. Spain and Portugal, which became members of the European Community (now the EU) in 1986, joined the ERM in 1989 and 1992, respectively.