 During the next 6 years, this agreement allowed the currencies of the participating countries to fluctuate within a band of plus or minus 2¼% around pre-announced central rates.Later, in 1979, the European Monetary System (EMS) was founded, with the participating countries in "‘the Snake’" being founding members.The EMS evolves over the next decade and even results into a truly fixed exchange rate at the start of the 1990s.