The euro (sign A currency sign is a graphic symbol often used as a shorthand for a currency's name. Internationally, ISO 4217 codes are used instead of currency signs, though currency signs may be in common use in their respective countries. Most currencies in the world have no specific symbol: € The euro sign is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the Eurozone in the European Union (EU). The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. The international three-letter code (according to ISO standard ISO 4217) for the euro is EUR; code ISO 4217 is the international standard describing three-letter codes to define the names of currencies established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The ISO 4217 code list is the established norm in banking and business all over the world for defining different currencies, and in many countries the codes for the more: EUR) is the official currency In economics, the term currency can refer to a particular currency, for example Pound Sterling, or to the coins and banknotes of a particular currency, which comprise the physical aspects of a nation's money supply. The other part of a nation's money supply consists of money deposited in banks , ownership of which can be transferred by means of of the Eurozone The eurozone ( pronunciation ), officially the euro area, is an economic and monetary union (EMU) of 16 European Union (EU) member states which have adopted the euro currency as their sole legal tender. It currently consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal,: 16 of the 27 Member States A Member State of the European Union is any one of the 27 sovereign states that have acceded to the European Union since its inception in 1951 as the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). From an original membership of six states, there have been six successive enlargements, the largest occurring on 1 May 2004, when ten states joined. The EU of the European Union The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 member states which are located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht in 1993 upon the foundations of the European Communities. With over 500 million citizens, the EU combined generated an estimated 28% share (US$ 16.5 (EU). It is also the currency used by the EU institutions The European Union is governed by seven institutions. Article 13 of Treaty on European Union lists them in the following order: the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council of the European Union (the Council); the European Commission, the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European Central Bank and the Court of Auditors. The eurozone The eurozone ( pronunciation ), officially the euro area, is an economic and monetary union (EMU) of 16 European Union (EU) member states which have adopted the euro currency as their sole legal tender. It currently consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, consists of Austria Austria /ˈɒstriə/ or /ˈɔːstriə/ (German: Österreich (help·info)), officially the Republic of Austria (German: Republik Österreich), is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It borders Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and, Belgium Belgium (pronounced /ˈbɛldʒəm/ , BEL-jəm), officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations, including NATO. Belgium covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres (11,787 sq mi), and it has a, Cyprus Cyprus (pronounced /ˈsaɪprəs/ ; Greek: Κύπρος, Kýpros, IPA: [ˈcipros]; Turkish: Kıbrıs), officially the Republic of Cyprus (Greek: Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία, Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía, IPA: [cipriaˈci ðimokraˈtia]; Turkish: Kıbrıs Cumhuriyeti) is an Eurasian island country in the Eastern Mediterranean, south of Turkey, Finland Finland (pronounced /ˈfɪnlənd/ ), officially the Republic of Finland Finnish: Suomi; Swedish: Finland (help·info), is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden on the west, Norway on the north and Russia on the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland, France France (pronounced /ˈfrænts/ frantss or /ˈfrɑːnts/ frahnts; French pronunciation (help·info): [fʁɑ̃s]), officially the French Republic (French: République française, pronounced: [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a state in Western Europe with several of its overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian,, Germany A region named Germania, inhabited by several Germanic peoples, has been known and documented before AD 100. Beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire, which lasted until 1806. During the 16th century, northern Germany became the centre of the Protestant Reformation. As a modern nation-state,, Greece Greece (English: /ˈɡriːs/ ; Greek: Ελλάδα, Elláda, IPA: [eˈlaða] ( listen); Ancient Greek: Ἑλλάς, Hellás, IPA: [helːás]), also known as Hellas and officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία, Ellīnikī́ Dīmokratía, IPA: [eliniˈci ðimokraˈtia]), is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on, Ireland Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɪərlənd/ , locally [ˈaɾlənd], Irish: Éire, pronounced [ˈeːɾʲə] ( listen)), described as the Republic of Ireland (Irish: Poblacht na hÉireann), is a country in north-western Europe. The modern sovereign state occupies about five-sixths of the island of Ireland, which was partitioned into two jurisdictions in 1921, Italy Italy (pronounced /ˈɪtəli/ ; Italian: Italia [iˈtaːlja]), officially the Italian Republic (Italian: Repubblica italiana), is a country located partly on the European Continent and partly on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine, Luxembourg Luxembourg (pronounced /ˈlʌksəmbɜrɡ/ LUKS-əm-berg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (Luxembourgish: Groussherzogtum Lëtzebuerg, French: Grand-Duché de Luxembourg, German: Großherzogtum Luxemburg), is a landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. Luxembourg has a population of over half a, Malta Malta /ˈmɔːltə/ , officially the Republic of Malta (Maltese: Repubblika ta' Malta), is a southern European country and consists of an archipelago situated centrally in the Mediterranean, 93 km south of Sicily and 288 km east of Tunisia, with the Strait of Gibraltar 1,826 km to the west and Alexandria 1,510 km to the east, the Netherlands The Netherlands (pronounced /ˈnɛðɚləndz/ ; Dutch: Nederland, pronounced [ˈneːdərlɑnt] ( listen)) is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located in North-West Europe. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany, Portugal Portugal /ˈpɔɹtʃʉɡəl/ (Portuguese: Portugal, Mirandese: Pertual), officially the Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: República Portuguesa; Mirandese: República Pertuesa), is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and, Slovakia The Slovak Republic (short form: Slovakia /sloʊˈvɑːkiə/ ; Slovak: Slovensko (help·info), long form Slovenská republika (help·info)) is a state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about 49,000 square kilometres (19,000 sq mi). Slovakia is a landlocked country bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria, Slovenia Slovenia /sloʊˈviːniə/ sloh-VEE-nee-ə, officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: Republika Slovenija, [reˈpublika sloˈveːnija] (help·info)), is a country in Central Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy on the west, the Adriatic Sea on the southwest, Croatia on the south and east, Hungary on and Spain Spain (pronounced /ˈspeɪn/ spayn; Spanish: España, pronounced [esˈpaɲa] ( listen)), officially the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: Reino de España), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.[note 6] Its mainland is bordered to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea except for.[2] Estonia Estonia /ɛsˈtoʊniə/ (Estonian: Eesti), officially the Republic of Estonia (Estonian: Eesti Vabariik), is a country in the Baltic Region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia (343 km), and to the east by the Russian Federation (338.6 km). The territory of is due to join the eurozone on 1 January 2011.[3] The currency is also used in a further five European countries, with and without formal agreements, and is consequently used daily by some 327 million Europeans.[4] Over 175 million people worldwide use currencies which are pegged A fixed exchange rate, sometimes called a pegged exchange rate, is a type of exchange rate regime wherein a currency's value is matched to the value of another single currency or to a basket of other currencies, or to another measure of value, such as gold to the euro, including more than 150 million people in Africa.

The euro is the second largest reserve currency A reserve currency, or anchor currency, is a currency which is held in significant quantities by many governments and institutions as part of their foreign exchange reserves. It also tends to be the international pricing currency for products traded on a global market, such as oil, gold, etc (a status it inherited from the German mark The Deutsche Mark was the official currency of West Germany (1948–1990) and Germany (1990–2002) until the adoption of the euro in 2002. It was first issued under Allied occupation in 1948 replacing the Reichsmark, and served as the Federal Republic of Germany's official currency from its founding the following year until 1999, when the Mark) as well as the second most traded currency in the world after the U.S. dollar The United States dollar is the official currency of the United States. The U.S. dollar is normally abbreviated as the dollar sign, $, or as USD or US$ to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies and from others that use the $ symbol. It is divided into 100 cents.[5] As of June 2010[update], with more than €800 billion in circulation, the euro is the currency with the highest combined value of banknotes and coins in circulation With regards to a particular currency, circulation refers to the total wealth of that currency that is engaged in that currency's economy at a given time. Circulation can also refer to the metaphorical or literal movement of wealth due to transactions between the holders of a currency. The euro, the official currency of the European Union, is in the world, having surpassed the U.S. dollar.[note 15] Based on IMF The International Monetary Fund is the intergovernmental organization that oversees the global financial system by following the macroeconomic policies of its member countries, in particular those with an impact on exchange rate and the balance of payments. It is an organization formed with a stated objective of stabilizing international exchange estimates of 2008 GDP The gross domestic product or gross domestic income (GDI) is a measure of a country's overall official economic output. It is the market value of all final goods and services officially made within the borders of a country in a year. It is often positively correlated with the standard of living,; though its use as a stand-in for measuring the and purchasing power parity Purchasing power parity is a theory of long-term equilibrium exchange rates based on relative price levels of two countries. The idea originated with the School of Salamanca in the 16th century and was developed in its modern form by Gustav Cassel in 1918. The concept is founded on the law of one price; the idea that in absence of transaction among the various currencies, the eurozone is the second largest economy in the world.[6]

The name euro was officially adopted on 16 December 1995.[7] The euro was introduced to world financial markets as an accounting currency on 1 January 1999, replacing the former European Currency Unit The European Currency Unit was a basket of the currencies of the European Community member states, used as the unit of account of the European Community before being replaced by the euro on January 1, 1999, at parity. The ECU itself replaced the European Unit of Account, also at parity, on March 13, 1979. The European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ECU) at a ratio of 1:1. Euro coins Coins are usually metal or a metallic material and sometimes made of synthetic materials, usually in the shape of a disc, and most often issued by a government. Coins are used as a form of money in transactions of various kinds, from the everyday circulation coins to the storage of large numbers of bullion coins. In the present day, coins and and banknotes A banknote is a kind of negotiable instrument, a promissory note made by a bank payable to the bearer on demand, used as money, and in many jurisdictions is legal tender. Along with coins, banknotes make up the cash or bearer forms of all modern fiat money. With the exception of non-circulating high-value or precious metal commemorative issues, entered circulation on 1 January 2002.

Contents

Administration

Main articles: European Central Bank The European Central Bank is the institution of the European Union (EU) tasked with administrating the monetary policy of the 16 EU member states taking part in the Eurozone. It is thus one of the world's most important central banks. The bank was established by the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1998, and is headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany. The, Maastricht Treaty The Maastricht Treaty was signed on 7 February 1992 by the members of the European Community in Maastricht, the Netherlands. On 9–10 December 1991, the same city hosted the European Council which drafted the treaty. Upon its entry into force on 1 November 1993 during the Delors Commission, it created the European Union and led to the creation of, and Euro Group The Euro Group or Eurogroup is a meeting of the finance ministers of the eurozone (i.e. those Member states of the European Union which have adopted the euro as their official currency). It is the political control over the Euro currency and related aspects of the EU's monetary union such as the Stability and Growth Pact. Its current President is The ECB The European Central Bank is the institution of the European Union (EU) tasked with administrating the monetary policy of the 16 EU member states taking part in the Eurozone. It is thus one of the world's most important central banks. The bank was established by the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1998, and is headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany. The in Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main (German pronunciation: [ˈfʁaŋkfʊɐt am ˈmaɪn] , English: /ˈfræŋkfərt/), commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2009 population of 667,330. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,295,000 in 2010. The city is at the centre, Germany, is in charge of the eurozone's monetary policy

The euro is managed and administered by the Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main (German pronunciation: [ˈfʁaŋkfʊɐt am ˈmaɪn] , English: /ˈfræŋkfərt/), commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2009 population of 667,330. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,295,000 in 2010. The city is at the centre-based European Central Bank The European Central Bank is the institution of the European Union (EU) tasked with administrating the monetary policy of the 16 EU member states taking part in the Eurozone. It is thus one of the world's most important central banks. The bank was established by the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1998, and is headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany. The (ECB) and the Eurosystem The Eurosystem is the monetary authority of the Eurozone, the collective of European Union member states that have adopted the euro as their sole official currency. The Eurosystem consists of the European Central Bank and the central banks of the member states that belong to the Eurozone (their function is to apply the monetary policy decided by (composed of the central banks A central bank, reserve bank, or monetary authority is a banking institution granted the exclusive privilege to lend a government its currency. Like a normal commercial bank, a central bank charges interest on the loans made to borrowers, primarily the government of whichever country the bank exists for, and to other commercial banks, typically as of the eurozone countries). As an independent central bank, the ECB has sole authority to set monetary policy Monetary policy is the process by which the monetary authority of a country controls the supply of money, often targeting a rate of interest. Monetary policy is usually used to attain a set of objectives oriented towards the growth and stability of the economy. These goals usually include stable prices and low unemployment. Monetary theory. The Eurosystem participates in the printing, minting and distribution of notes Euro banknotes are the banknotes of the euro, the currency of the eurozone . They have been in circulation since 2002 and are issued by the European Central Bank (ECB), each bearing the signature of the President of the European Central Bank. Denominations of notes range from €5 to €500 and, unlike euro coins, the design is identical across and coins There are eight euro coin denominations, ranging from one cent to two euros . The coins first came into use in 2002. They have a common reverse, portraying a map of Europe, but each country in the eurozone has its own design on the obverse, which means that each coin has a variety of different designs in circulation at once. Three European in all Member States, and the operation of the eurozone payment systems.

The 1992 Maastricht Treaty The Maastricht Treaty was signed on 7 February 1992 by the members of the European Community in Maastricht, the Netherlands. On 9–10 December 1991, the same city hosted the European Council which drafted the treaty. Upon its entry into force on 1 November 1993 during the Delors Commission, it created the European Union and led to the creation of obliges most EU Member States to adopt the euro upon meeting certain monetary and budgetary requirements, although not all states have done so. The United Kingdom and Denmark negotiated exemptions,[8] while Sweden turned down the euro in a 2003 referendum, and has circumvented the obligation to adopt the euro by not meeting the monetary and budgetary requirements. All nations that have joined the EU since 1993 have pledged to adopt the euro in due course.

Characteristics

Coins and banknotes

All euro coins have a common side, and a national side chosen by the issuing bank. Main articles: euro coins and euro banknotes

The euro is divided into 100 cents (sometimes referred to as euro-cents, especially when distinguishing them from other currencies). In Community legislative acts the plural forms of euro and cent are spelled without the s, notwithstanding normal English usage.[9][10] Otherwise, normal English plurals are recommended and used;[11] with many local variations such as for example 'centime' in France.

All circulating coins have a common side showing the denomination or value, and a map in the background. For the denominations except the 1-, 2- and 5-cent coins that map only showed the 15 Member States which were members when the euro was introduced. Beginning in 2007 or 2008 (depending on the country) the old map is being replaced by a map of Europe also showing countries outside the Union like Norway. The 1-, 2- and 5-cent coins, however, keep their old design, showing a geographical map of Europe with the 15 Member States of 2002 raised somewhat above the rest of the map. All common sides were designed by Luc Luycx. The coins also have a national side showing an image specifically chosen by the country that issued the coin. Euro coins from any Member State may be freely used in any nation which has adopted the euro.

The common (top) and national sides of the €2 coin

The coins are issued in €2, €1, 50c, 20c, 10c, 5c, 2c, and 1c denominations. In order to avoid the use of the two smallest coins, some cash transactions are rounded to the nearest five cents in the Netherlands (by voluntary agreement) and in Finland (by law).[12] This practice is discouraged by the Commission, as is the habit of certain shops to refuse to accept high value euro notes.[13]

Commemorative coins with €2 face value have been issued with changes to the design of the national side of the coin. These include both commonly issued coins, such as the €2 commemorative coin for the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome, and nationally issued coins, such as the coin to commemorate the 2004 Summer Olympics issued by Greece. These coins are legal tender throughout the eurozone. Collector's coins with various other denominations have been issued as well, but these are not intended for general circulation, and they are legal tender only in the Member State that issued them.[14]

The design for the euro banknotes have common designs on both sides. The design was created by the Austrian designer Robert Kalina.[15] Notes are issued in €500, €200, €100, €50, €20, €10, €5. Each banknote has its own colour and is dedicated to an artistic period of European architecture. The front of the note features windows or gateways while the back has bridges. While the designs are supposed to be devoid of any identifiable characteristics, the initial designs by Robert Kalina were of specific bridges, including the Rialto and the Pont de Neuilly, and were subsequently rendered more generic; the final designs still bear very close similarities to their specific prototypes; thus they are not truly generic.[16] Some of the highest denominations such as the €500 are not issued in all countries, though they remain legal tender throughout the eurozone.

Payments clearing, electronic funds transfer

Main article: Single Euro Payments Area

Capital within the EU may be transferred in any amount from one country to another. All intra-EU transfers in euro are considered as domestic payments and bear the corresponding domestic transfer costs.[17] This includes all Member States of the EU, even those outside the eurozone providing the transactions are carried out in euro.[18] Credit/debit card charging and ATM withdrawals within the eurozone are also charged as domestic, however paper-based payment orders, like cheques, have not been standardised so these are still domestic-based. The ECB has also set up a clearing system, TARGET, for large euro transactions.[19]

Currency sign

The euro sign; logotype and handwritten. Main article: euro sign

A special euro currency sign (€) was designed after a public survey had narrowed the original ten proposals down to two. The European Commission then chose the design created by the Belgian Alain Billiet. The official story of the design history of the euro sign is disputed by Arthur Eisenmenger, a former chief graphic designer for the EEC, who claims to have created it as a generic symbol of Europe.[20]

“ Inspiration for the € symbol itself came from the Greek epsilon (Є)[note 16] – a reference to the cradle of European civilisation – and the first letter of the word Europe, crossed by two parallel lines to ‘certify’ the stability of the euro. ”

—European Commission[9]

The European Commission also specified a euro logo with exact proportions and foreground/background colour tones.[21] While the Commission intended the logo to be a prescribed glyph shape, font designers made it clear that they intended to design their own variants instead.[22] Typewriters lacking the euro sign can create it by typing a capital 'C', backspacing and overstriking it with the equal ('=') sign. Placement of the currency sign relative to the numeric amount varies from nation to nation, but for texts in English the symbol (and the ISO-standard "EUR") should precede the amount.[23]

Introduction of the euro

Main article: History of the euro
Preceding national currencies of the Eurozone
Currency Code Rate Fixed on Yielded
Austrian schilling ATS 13.7603 01998-12-31 31 December 1998 2002
Belgian franc BEF 40.3399 01998-12-31 31 December 1998 2002
Dutch guilder NLG 2.20371 01998-12-31 31 December 1998 2002
Finnish markka FIM 5.94573 01998-12-31 31 December 1998 2002
French franc FRF 6.55957 01998-12-31 31 December 1998 2002
German mark DEM 1.95583 01998-12-31 31 December 1998 2002
Irish pound IEP 0.787564 01998-12-31 31 December 1998 2002
Italian lira ITL 1,936.27 01998-12-31 31 December 1998 2002
Luxembourgian franc LUF 40.3399 01998-12-31 31 December 1998 2002
Monegasque franc MCF 6.55957 01998-12-31 31 December 1998 2002
Portuguese escudo PTE 200.482 01998-12-31 31 December 1998 2002
Sammarinese lira SML 1,936.27 01998-12-31 31 December 1998 2002
Spanish peseta ESP 166.386 01998-12-31 31 December 1998 2002
Vatican lira VAL 1,936.27 01998-12-31 31 December 1998 2002
Greek drachma GRD 340.75 02000-06-19 19 June 2000 2002
Slovenian tolar SIT 239.64 02006-07-11 11 July 2006 2007
Cypriot pound CYP 0.585274 02007-07-10 10 July 2007 2008
Maltese lira MTL 0.4293 02007-07-10 10 July 2007 2008
Slovak koruna SKK 30.126 02008-07-08 8 July 2008 2009
Estonian kroon EEK 15.6466 02010-07-13 13 July 2010 2011

The euro was established by the provisions in the 1992 Maastricht Treaty. In order to participate in the currency, Member States are meant to meet strict criteria such as a budget deficit of less than three per cent of their GDP, a debt ratio of less than sixty per cent of GDP, low inflation, and interest rates close to the EU average. In the Maastricht Treaty, the United Kingdom and Denmark were granted exemptions per their request from moving to the stage of monetary union which would result in the introduction of the euro.

Economists who helped create or contributed to the euro include Fred Arditti, Neil Dowling, Wim Duisenberg, Robert Mundell, Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa and Robert Tollison.[citation needed] (For macro-economic theory, see below.) The name euro was devised on 4 August 1995 by Germain Pirlot, a Belgian Esperantist and ex-teacher of French and history,[24] and officially adopted in Madrid on 16 December 1995.[7][25][citation needed]

Due to differences in national conventions for rounding and significant digits, all conversion between the national currencies had to be carried out using the process of triangulation via the euro. The definitive values in euro of these subdivisions (which represent the exchange rates at which the currency entered the euro) are shown at right.

The rates were determined by the Council of the European Union,[26] based on a recommendation from the European Commission based on the market rates on 31 December 1998. They were set so that one European Currency Unit (ECU) would equal one euro. The European Currency Unit was an accounting unit used by the EU, based on the currencies of the Member States; it was not a currency in its own right. They could not be set earlier, because the ECU depended on the closing exchange rate of the non-euro currencies (principally the pound sterling) that day.

The procedure used to fix the irrevocable conversion rate between the drachma and the euro was different, since the euro by then was already two years old. While the conversion rates for the initial eleven currencies were determined only hours before the euro was introduced, the conversion rate for the Greek drachma was fixed several months beforehand.[27]

The currency was introduced in non-physical form (traveller's cheques, electronic transfers, banking, etc.) at midnight on 1 January 1999, when the national currencies of participating countries (the eurozone) ceased to exist independently. Their exchange rates were locked at fixed rates against each other, effectively making them mere non-decimal subdivisions of the euro. The euro thus became the successor to the European Currency Unit (ECU). The notes and coins for the old currencies, however, continued to be used as legal tender until new euro notes and coins were introduced on 1 January 2002.

The changeover period during which the former currencies' notes and coins were exchanged for those of the euro lasted about two months, until 28 February 2002. The official date on which the national currencies ceased to be legal tender varied from Member State to Member State. The earliest date was in Germany where the mark officially ceased to be legal tender on 31 December 2001, though the exchange period lasted for two months more. Even after the old currencies ceased to be legal tender, they continued to be accepted by national central banks for periods ranging from several years to forever (the latter in Austria, Germany, Ireland and Spain). The earliest coins to become non-convertible were the Portuguese escudos, which ceased to have monetary value after 31 December 2002, although banknotes remain exchangeable until 2022.

Direct and indirect usage

Further information: Eurozone, International status and usage of the euro, and Enlargement of the eurozone
Bulgaria Andorra Bulgaria Czech Rep. Denmark E U R O Z O N E Estonia Hungary Kosovo Latvia Lithuania Monaco Mont. Poland Romania San Marino Sweden United Kingdom Vatican A&D Eurozone ERM II members unilaterally adopted other EU members special adoption agreement Via treaty

Direct usage

The euro is the sole currency of 16 EU Member States: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain. These countries comprise the "eurozone", some 326 million people in total. Estonia will join in 2011.[28]

With all but two of the remaining EU members obliged to join, together with future members of the EU, the enlargement of the eurozone is set to continue further. Outside the EU, the euro is also the sole currency of Montenegro and Kosovo and several European micro states (Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City) as well as in three overseas territories of EU states that are not themselves part of the EU (Mayotte, Saint Pierre and Miquelon and Akrotiri and Dhekelia). Together this direct usage of the euro outside the EU affects over 3 million people.

It is also gaining increasing international usage as a trading currency, in Cuba,[29] North Korea and Syria.[30] There are also various currencies pegged to the euro (see below). In 2009 Zimbabwe abandoned its local currency and used major currencies instead, including the euro and the United States dollar.[31]

Use as reserve currency

Since its introduction, the euro has been the second most widely held international reserve currency after the U.S. dollar. The share of the euro as a reserve currency has increased from 17.9% in 1999 to 26.5% in 2008, at the expense of the U.S. dollar (its share fell from 70.9% to 64.0% in the same timeframe) and the Yen (it fell from 6.4% to 3.3%). The euro inherited and built on the status of the second most important reserve currency from the German mark. The euro remains underweight as a reserve currency in advanced economies while overweight in emerging and developing economies: according to the IMF[32] the total of euros held as a reserve in the world at the end of 2008 was equal to USD 1.1 trillion, with a share of 22% of all currency reserves in advanced economies, but a total of 31% of all currency reserves in emerging and developing economies.

The possibility of the euro becoming the first international reserve currency is now widely debated among economists.[33] Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan gave his opinion in September 2007 that it is "absolutely conceivable that the euro will replace the dollar as reserve currency, or will be traded as an equally important reserve currency."[34] In contrast to Greenspan's 2007 assessment the euro's increase in the share of the worldwide currency reserve basket has slowed considerably since the year 2007 and since the beginning of the worldwide credit crunch related recession and sovereign debt crisis.[32]

Currencies pegged to the euro

Worldwide use of the euro and the U.S. dollar: Eurozone External adopters of the euro Currencies pegged to the euro Currencies pegged to the euro within narrow band United States External adopters of the US dollar Currencies pegged to the US dollar Currencies pegged to the US dollar within narrow band Note that the Belarusian ruble is pegged to the Euro, Russian Ruble and U.S. Dollar in a currency basket. Main article: Currencies related to the euro

Outside the eurozone, a total of 23 countries and territories that do not belong to the EU have currencies that are directly pegged to the euro including 14 countries in mainland Africa (CFA franc and Moroccan dirham), two African island countries (Comorian franc and Cape Verdean escudo), three French Pacific territories (CFP franc) and another Balkan country, Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark). On 28 July 2009, São Tomé and Príncipe signed an agreement with Portugal which will eventually tie its currency to the euro.[35]

With the exception of Bosnia (which pegged its currency against the German mark) and Cape Verde (formerly pegged to the Portuguese escudo) all of these non-EU countries had a currency peg to the French Franc before pegging their currencies to the euro. Pegging a country's currency to a major currency is regarded as a safety measure, especially for currencies of areas with weak economies, as the euro is seen as a stable currency, prevents runaway inflation and encourages foreign investment due to its stability.

Within the EU several currencies have a peg to the euro, in most instances as a precondition to joining the eurozone. The Bulgarian Lev and the Estonian kroon were formerly pegged to the German mark, other EU memberstates have a direct peg due to ERM II: the Danish krone, the Lithuanian litas and the Latvian lats.

In total, over 150 million people in Africa use a currency pegged to the euro, 25 million people outside the eurozone in Europe and another 500,000 people on Pacific islands.

Economics

Optimal currency area

Further information: Optimum currency area

In economics, an optimum currency area (or region) (OCA, or OCR) is a geographical region in which it would maximize economic efficiency to have the entire region share a single currency. There are two models, both proposed by Robert A. Mundell: the stationary expectations model and the international risk sharing model. Mundell himself advocates the international risk sharing model and thus concludes in favour of the euro.[36] However, even before the creation of the single currency, there were concerns over diverging economies. Yet the chances of a state leaving the euro, or the chances that the whole zone would collapse, are extremely slim.[37]

Transaction costs and risks

The most obvious benefit of adopting a single currency is to remove the cost of exchanging currency, theoretically allowing businesses and individuals to consummate previously unprofitable trades. For consumers, banks in the eurozone must charge the same for intra-member cross-border transactions as purely domestic transactions for electronic payments (e.g., credit cards, debit cards and cash machine withdrawals).

The absence of distinct currencies also removes exchange rate risks. The risk of unanticipated exchange rate movement has always added an additional risk or uncertainty for companies or individuals that invest or trade outside their own currency zones. Companies that hedge against this risk will no longer need to shoulder this additional cost. This is particularly important for countries whose currencies had traditionally fluctuated a great deal, particularly the Mediterranean nations.

Financial markets on the continent are expected to be far more liquid and flexible than they were in the past. The reduction in cross-border transaction costs will allow larger banking firms to provide a wider array of banking services that can compete across and beyond the eurozone.

Price parity

Another effect of the common European currency is that differences in prices – in particular in price levels – should decrease because of the 'law of one price'. Differences in prices can trigger arbitrage, i.e. speculative trade in a commodity across borders purely to exploit the price differential. Therefore, prices on commonly traded goods are likely to converge, causing inflation in some regions and deflation in others during the transition. Some evidence of this has been observed in specific markets.[38]

Macroeconomic stability

Low levels of inflation are the hallmark of stable and modern economies. Because a high level of inflation acts as a tax (seigniorage) and theoretically discourages investment, it is generally viewed as undesirable. In spite of the downside, many countries have been unable or unwilling to deal with serious inflationary pressures. Some countries have successfully contained them by establishing largely independent central banks. One such bank was the Bundesbank in Germany; as the European Central Bank is modelled on the Bundesbank,[39] it is independent of the pressures of national governments and has a mandate to keep inflationary pressures low.[citation needed] Member countries that join the bank commit to lower inflation, hoping to enjoy the macroeconomic stability associated with low levels of expected inflation.[citation needed] The ECB (unlike the Federal Reserve in the United States of America) does not have a second objective to sustain growth and employment.[citation needed]

Many national and corporate bonds denominated in euro are significantly more liquid and have lower interest rates than was historically the case when denominated in legacy currencies.[citation needed] While increased liquidity may lower the nominal interest rate on the bond, denominating the bond in a currency with low levels of inflation arguably plays a much larger role. A credible commitment to low levels of inflation and a stable debt reduces the risk that the value of the debt will be eroded by higher levels of inflation or default in the future, allowing debt to be issued at a lower nominal interest rate.

Evidence on the effect of the introduction of the euro

In conformity with the economic predictions, empirical studies have found that the introduction of the euro has had a positive impact on the movement of goods, financial assets, and people within the eurozone. In addition, countries which previously had weak currencies have benefited from lower interest rates and their firms now have easier access to capital.

Trade

The consensus from the studies of the effect of the introduction of the euro is that it has increased trade within the eurozone by 5% to 10%.[40] On the lower bound, one study suggested an increase of 3%.[41] A recent study estimates this effect to be between 9 and 14%.[42] Nevertheless, a recent meta-analysis of all available studies suggests that the prevalence of positive estimates is caused by publication bias and that the underlying effect may be negligible.[43]

Investment

Studies have found a positive effect of the introduction of the euro on investment. Physical investment seems to have increased by 5% in the eurozone due to the introduction.[44] Regarding foreign direct investment, a study found that the intra-eurozone FDI stocks have increased by about 20% during the first four years of the EMU.[45] Concerning the effect on corporate investment, there is evidence that the introduction of the euro has resulted in an increase in investment rates and that it has made it easier for firms to access financing in Europe. The euro has most specifically stimulated investment in companies that come from countries that previously had weak currencies. A study found that the introduction of the euro accounts for 22% of the investment rate after 1998 in countries that previously had a weak currency.[46] The effect is however less clear for firms coming from the strong currency countries; the introduction has not been beneficial for most of them.

Inflation

The introduction of the euro has led to extensive discussion about its possible effect on inflation. In the short term, there was a widespread impression in the population of the eurozone that the introduction of the euro had led to an increase in prices. Paradoxically, this impression has not been supported by general indices of inflation, showing no major effect of the introduction of the euro. A study of this paradox has found that it is due to an asymmetric effect of the introduction of the euro on prices: while it had no effect on most goods, it had an effect on cheap goods which have seen their price round up after the introduction of the euro. The study found that consumers based their beliefs on inflation of those cheap goods which are frequently purchased.[47] It has also been suggested that the jump in small prices may be due to the fact that prior to the introduction, retailers made fewer upward adjustments and waited for the introduction of the euro to do so.[48]

Exchange rate risk

One of the advantages of the adoption of a common currency is the reduction of the risk associated with changes in currency exchange rates. It has been found that the introduction of the euro created "significant reductions in market risk exposures for nonfinancial firms both in and outside of Europe".[49] These reductions in market risk "were concentrated in firms domiciled in the eurozone and in non-Euro firms with a high fraction of foreign sales or assets in Europe". These changes were however "statistically and economically small".

Financial integration

The introduction of the euro seems to have had a strong effect on European financial integration. According to a study on this question, it has "significantly reshaped the European financial system, especially with respect to the securities markets [...] However, the real and policy barriers to integration in the retail and corporate banking sectors remain significant, even if the wholesale end of banking has been largely integrated."[50] Specifically, the euro has significantly decreased the cost of trade in bonds, equity, and banking assets within the eurozone. [51] On a global level, there is evidence that the introduction of the euro has led to an integration in terms of investment in bond portfolios, with eurozone countries lending and borrowing more between each other than with other countries.[52]

Effect on interest rates

The introduction of the euro has decreased the interest rates of most members countries, in particular those with a weak currency. As a consequence the market value of firms from countries which previously had a weak currency has very significantly increased.[53] The countries whose interest rates fell most as a result of the euro are Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Spain, and Italy.[54]

Price convergence

The evidence on the convergence of prices in the eurozone with the introduction of the euro is mixed. Several studies failed to find any evidence of convergence following the introduction of the euro after a phase of convergence in the early 1990s.[55][56] Other studies have found evidence of price convergence,[57][58] in particular for cars.[59] A possible reason for the divergence between the different studies is that the processes of convergence may not have been linear, slowing down substantially between 2000 and 2003, and resurfacing after 2003 as suggested by a recent study (2009).[60]

Tourism

A study has found that the introduction of the euro has had a positive effect on tourism flows within the EMU, with an increase of 6.5%.[61]

Exchange rates

This article appears to contradict itself. Please see its talk page for more information. (August 2009)
U.S. dollars per 1 euro 1999–2010
Year Lowest ↓ Highest ↑
Date Rate Date Rate
1999 03 Dec $1.0015 05 Jan $1.1790
2000 26 Oct $0.8252 06 Jan $1.0388
2001 06 Jul $0.8384 05 Jan $0.9545
2002 28 Jan $0.8578 31 Dec $1.0487
2003 08 Jan $1.0377 31 Dec $1.2630
2004 14 May $1.1802 28 Dec $1.3633
2005 15 Nov $1.1667 03 Jan $1.3507
2006 02 Jan $1.1826 05 Dec $1.3331
2007 12 Jan $1.2893 27 Nov $1.4874
2008 27 Oct $1.2460 15 Jul $1.5990
2009 04 Mar $1.2555 03 Dec $1.5120
2010 08 Jun $1.1942 13 Jan $1.4563
Source: Euro exchange rates in USD, ECB

Flexible exchange rates

The ECB targets interest rates rather than exchange rates and in general does not intervene on the foreign exchange rate markets, because of the implications of the Mundell-Fleming Model which suggest that a central bank cannot maintain interest rate and exchange rate targets simultaneously because increasing the money supply results in a depreciation of the currency. In the years following the Single European Act, the EU has liberalised its capital markets, and as the ECB has chosen monetary autonomy, the exchange rate regime of the euro is flexible, or floating.

Against other major currencies

After the introduction of the euro, its exchange rate against other currencies fell heavily, especially against the U.S. dollar. From an introduction at US$1.18/€, the euro fell to a low of $0.8228/€ by 26 October 2000. After the appearance of the coins and notes on 1 January 2002 and the replacement of all national currencies, the euro began steadily appreciating, and regained parity with the U.S. dollar, on 15 July 2002. The euro has not fallen below parity with the U.S. dollar since December 2002 but has risen in value.

Exchange rate evolution of the euro compared to USD, JPY and GBP. Exchange rate at start is put to 1. Green: in Jan-1999: €1 = $1.18 ; in Jul-2008: €1 = $1.57 Red: in Jan-1999: €1 = ¥133 ; in Jul-2008: €1 = ¥168 Blue: in Jan-1999: €1 = £0.71 ; in Jul-2008: €1 = £0.80

On 23 May 2003, the euro surpassed its initial ($1.18) trading value for the first time. At the end of 2004, it reached $1.3668 (€0.7316/$) as the U.S. dollar fell against all major currencies. Against the U.S. dollar, the euro temporarily weakened in 2005, falling to $1.18 (€0.85/$) in July 2005, and was stable throughout the third quarter of 2005. In November 2005 the euro again began to rise steadily against the U.S. dollar, hitting one record high after another. On 15 July 2008, the euro rose to an all-time high of $1.5990 (€0.6254/$). In a reversal, in August 2008 the euro began to drop against the U.S. dollar. In just two weeks the euro fell from its peak to $1.48 and by late October it reached a two and a half year low below $1.25 before moving back above $1.50 by November 2009.[62] On 29 December 2008, the pound sterling fell to an all-time low of £0.97855 (€1.0219/£) against the euro, although its value recovered somewhat in 2009.[63] In early 2010, concerns over the solvency of Greece caused a drop in the exchange rate against the dollar followed by a bounce to $1.29.[64]

Current EUR exchange rates
From Google Finance: AUD CAD CHF GBP HKD JPY USD RUB CNY TWD
From Yahoo! Finance: AUD CAD CHF GBP HKD JPY USD RUB CNY TWD
From XE.com: AUD CAD CHF GBP HKD JPY USD RUB CNY TWD
From OANDA.com: AUD CAD CHF GBP HKD JPY USD RUB CNY TWD

Linguistic issues

Main article: Linguistic issues concerning the euro

The formal titles of the currency are euro for the major unit and cent for the minor (one hundredth) unit and for official use in most eurozone languages; according to the ECB, all languages should use the same spelling for the nominative singular.[65] This may contradict normal rules for word formation in some languages; e.g., those where there is no eu diphthong. Bulgaria has negotiated an exception; euro in the Cyrillic alphabet is spelled as eвро (evro) and not eуро (euro) in all official documents.[66] The European Commission's Directorate-General for Translation states clearly that the plural forms euros and cents should be used in English.[67]

Notes

  1. ^ Andorra started negotiating a treaty with the ECB for becoming a State with issuing rights in 2003 but no treaty was signed since.
  2. ^ "By UNMIK administration direction 1999/2". Unmikonline.org. http://www.unmikonline.org/regulations/admdirect/1999/089%20Final%20%20ADE%201999-02.htm. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
  3. ^ By an internal act (references missing)
  4. ^ Alongside Zimbabwean dollar (suspended indefinitely from 12 April 2009), U.S. dollar, Pound Sterling, South African rand and Botswana pula
  5. ^ Except northern Cyprus that uses Turkish lira
  6. ^ Including overseas departments
  7. ^ Except Campione that uses Swiss franc.
  8. ^ Metropolitan only. Overseas territories uses the Netherlands Antillean guilder.
  9. ^ "By monetary agreement between France (acting for the EC) and Monaco". http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2002:142:0059:0073:EN:PDF. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
  10. ^ "By monetary agreement between Italy (acting for the EC) and San Marino". http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2001:209:0001:0004:EN:PDF. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
  11. ^ "By monetary agreement between Italy (acting for the EC) and Vatican city". http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2001:299:0001:0004:EN:PDF. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
  12. ^ By the third protocol to the Cyprus adhesion Treaty to EU and British local ordinance.
  13. ^ By agreement of the EU Council. Mayotte will become an integral part of France, and hence the EU and the eurozone, in 2011 then becoming a French department with a 20 year transitional period.
  14. ^ "By agreement of the EU Council". http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:1999:030:0029:0030:EN:PDF. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
  15. ^ As of 30 October 2009)[update]: Total EUR currency (coins and banknotes) in circulation 771.5 (banknotes) + 21.032 (coins) =792.53 billion EUR * 1.48 (exchange rate) = 1,080 billion USD Total USD currency (coins and banknotes) in circulation 859 billion USD
  16. ^ In the quotation, the epsilon is actually represented with the Cyrillic capital letter Ukranian ye (Є, U+0404) instead of the technically more appropriate Greek lunate epsilon symbol (ϵ, U+03F5).

References

  1. ^ Official documents and legislation refer to the euro as "the single currency". "Council Regulation (EC) No 1103/97 of 17 June 1997 on certain provisions relating to the introduction of the euro". Official Journal L 162, 19/06/1997 P. 0001 – 0003. European Communities. 1997-06-19. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:31997R1103:EN:HTML. Retrieved 2009-04-01. This term is sometimes adopted by the media (Google hits for the phrase)
  2. ^ Rosenberg, Matt. "Euro Countries: 22 Countries use the Euro as their Official Currency". ©2009 About.com, a part of The New York Times Company.. http://geography.about.com/od/lists/a/euro.htm. Retrieved 2009-09-12.
  3. ^ "EU ministers back Estonia bid to join euro". BBC News. 2010-06-08. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/10264800.stm. Retrieved 2010-07-19.
  4. ^ "What is EMU?". Eurodesigncontest.eu. http://www.eurodesigncontest.eu/emu.cfm?lang=en. Retrieved 23 November 2008.
  5. ^ "Triennial Central Bank Survey 2007 – BIS – December 2007". BIS. 2007-12-19. http://www.bis.org/publ/rpfxf07t.pdf. Retrieved 2009-07-25.
  6. ^ "Report for Selected Country Groups and Subjects". Imf.org. 2006-09-14. http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2008/02/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2008&ey=2008&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=163&s=PPPGDP&grp=1&a=1&pr.x=63&pr.y=7. Retrieved 5 January 2009. "Report for Selected Countries and Subjects". Imf.org. 2006-09-14. http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2008/02/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2008&ey=2008&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=111&s=PPPGDP&grp=0&a=&pr.x=42&pr.y=7. Retrieved 5 January 2009. "Report for Selected Country Groups and Subjects". Imf.org. 2006-09-14. http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2008/02/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2008&ey=2008&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=163&s=NGDPD&grp=1&a=1&pr.x=42&pr.y=3. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
  7. ^ a b "Madrid European Council (12/95): Conclusions". European Parliament. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/summits/mad1_en.htm. Retrieved 14 February 2009.
  8. ^ "The Euro". Economic and Financial Affairs. http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/the_euro/index_en.htm?cs_mid=2946. Retrieved 29 January 2009.
  9. ^ a b "European Commission – Economic and Financial Affairs – How to use the euro name and symbol". Ec.europa.eu. http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/euro/cash/symbol/index_en.htm. Retrieved 7 April 2010.
  10. ^ European Commission. "Spelling of the words "euro" and "cent" in official Community languages as used in Community Legislative acts" (PDF). http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/publication6336_en.pdf. Retrieved 26 November 2008.
  11. ^ European Commission Directorate-General for Translation. "English Style Guide: A handbook for authors and translators in the European Commission" (PDF). http://ec.europa.eu/translation/writing/style_guides/english/style_guide_en.pdf. Retrieved 16 November 2008. ; European Union. "Interinstitutional style guide, 7.3.3. Rules for expressing monetary units". http://publications.europa.eu/code/en/en-370303.htm. Retrieved 16 November 2008.
  12. ^ European Commission (January 2007). "Euro cash: five and familiar". Europa (web portal). http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/een/005/article_4324_en.htm. Retrieved 26 January 2009.
  13. ^ Pop, Valentina (22 March 2010) Commission frowns on shop signs that say: '€500 notes not accepted', EU Observer
  14. ^ European Commission (15 February 2003). "Commission communication: The introduction of euro banknotes and coins one year after COM(2002) 747". . http://europa.eu/legislation_summaries/economic_and_monetary_affairs/introducing_euro_practical_aspects/l25058_en.htm. Retrieved 26 January 2009.
  15. ^ "Robert Kalina, designer of the euro banknotes, at work at the Oesterreichische Nationalbank in Vienna". Ecb.int. http://www.ecb.int/euro/changeover/2002/photos/html/image12.en.html. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
  16. ^ Schmid, John (2001-08-03). "Etching the Notes of a New European Identity – International Herald Tribune". International Herald Tribune. http://www.iht.com/articles/2001/08/03/euro_ed3_.php?page=2. Retrieved 2009-05-29.
  17. ^ "Regulation (EC) No 2560/2001 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 December 2001 on cross-border payments in euro". EUR-lex – European Communities, Publications office, Official Journal L 344, 28/12/2001 P. 0013 – 0016. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:32001R2560:EN:HTML. Retrieved 26 December 2008.
  18. ^ "Cross border payments in the EU, Euro Information, The Official Treasury Euro Resource". United Kingdom Treasury. http://www.euro.gov.uk/crossborder.asp. Retrieved 26 December 2008.
  19. ^ the European Central Bank. "TARGET". Archived from the original on 2008-01-21. http://web.archive.org/web/20080121081217/http://www.ecb.int/paym/target/html/index.en.html. Retrieved 25 October 2007.
  20. ^ Connolly, Kate (2001-12-23). "Inventor who coined euro sign fights for recognition". The Observer (Berlin: Guardian Unlimited). http://observer.guardian.co.uk/print/0,3858,4325292-102275,00.html.
  21. ^ "The €uro: Our Currency". europa.eu. Archived from the original on 2007-10-11. http://web.archive.org/web/20071011043046/http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/euro/notes_and_coins/symbol_en.htm. Retrieved 25 October 2007.
  22. ^ Siebert, Jürgen (2002). "The Euro: From Logo to Letter". Font Magazine (2). http://www.fontshop.com/features/fontmag/002/02_euro/.
  23. ^ "Position of the ISO code or euro sign in amounts". Interinstitutional style guide. Bruxelles, Belgium: Europa Publications Office. 5 February 2009. http://publications.europa.eu/code/en/en-370303.htm#position. Retrieved 10 January 2010.
  24. ^ "Germain Pirlot 'uitvinder' van de euro" (in Dutch). De Zeewacht. 2007-02-16. http://www.agendaplus.info/artikeleuro.jpg. Retrieved 2009-02-14.
  25. ^ This was seen by some as the second diplomatic defeat of the French, who wanted the name Ecu. Also, their candidate for the initial president lost out to the German candidate, Duisenberg.
  26. ^ by means of Council Regulation 2866/98 (EC) of 31 December 1998.
  27. ^ by Council Regulation 1478/2000 (EC) of 19 June 2000.
  28. ^ "Ministers offer Estonia entry to eurozone January 1". France24.com. 2010-06-08. http://www.france24.com/en/20100608-eu-ministers-offer-estonia-entry-eurozone-january-1-currency-europe. Retrieved 2010-07-19.
  29. ^ "Cuba to adopt Euro in foreign trade". BBC News. 1998-11-08. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/210441.stm. Retrieved 2008-01-02.
  30. ^ "US row leads Syria to snub dollar". BBC News. 2006-02-14. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4713622.stm. Retrieved 2008-01-02.
  31. ^ "Zimbabwe: A Critical Review of Sterp". 2009-04-17. http://allafrica.com/stories/200904170690.html. Retrieved 2009-04-30.
  32. ^ a b "Currency Composition of Official Foreign Exchange Reserves (COFER) – Updated COFER tables include first quarter 2009 data. June 30, 2009" (PDF). http://www.imf.org/external/np/sta/cofer/eng/cofer.pdf. Retrieved 2009-07-08.
  33. ^ "Will the Euro Eventually Surpass the Dollar As Leading International Reserve Currency?" (PDF). http://www.wage.wisc.edu/uploads/Working%20Papers/chinnfrankel_NBER_eurotopcurrency.pdf.
  34. ^ "Euro could replace dollar as top currency – Greenspan". 2007-09-17. http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSL1771147920070917. Retrieved 17 September 2007.
  35. ^ "S.Tomé e Princípe ancora-se ao euro". euobserver.com. (July 28, 2009). http://euobserver.com/9/26096. Retrieved 2009-07-29.
  36. ^ A Plan for a European Currency, 1973 by Mundell
  37. ^ "The Breakup of the Euro Area". http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1014341.
  38. ^ "Market Integration and Convergence to the Law of One Price: Evidence from the European Car Market". Nber.org. http://www.nber.org/papers/w8402. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
  39. ^ de Haan, Jakob (2000). The History of the Bundesbank: Lessons for the European Central Bank. London: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-21723-1. http://books.google.com/?id=EaIV0OWlaokC. Retrieved 2009-07-24.
  40. ^ "The euro's trade effects" (PDF). http://www.ecb.de/pub/pdf/scpwps/ecbwp594.pdf. Retrieved 2009-10-02.
  41. ^ "Trend27.dvi" (PDF). http://www1.fee.uva.nl/pp/klaassen/index_files/trend27_forthcoming.pdf. Retrieved 2009-10-02.
  42. ^ "SSRN-Estimating the Euro Effects on Trade with Propensity Score Matching by Pandej Chintrakarn". Papers.ssrn.com. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1079383. Retrieved 2009-10-02.
  43. ^ "Rose effect and the euro: is the magic gone?". Review of World Economics. http://www.springerlink.com/content/670658078011l5r1/. Retrieved 2010-07-13.
  44. ^ "G:\investment7.dvi" (PDF). http://www.eu-financial-system.org/fileadmin/content/Dokumente_Events/second_conference/Dvorak.pdf. Retrieved 2009-10-02.
  45. ^ "AFSE.fr" (PDF). http://www.afse.fr/docs/congres_2005/docs2005/Sousa.pdf. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
  46. ^ "WU-Wien.ac.at" (PDF). http://www2.wu-wien.ac.at/rof/papers/pdf/Bris-Koskinen-Nilsson_Euro%20Effects.pdf. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
  47. ^ InterScience.Wiley.com
  48. ^ "Quarterly Journal of Economics – Abstract". MIT Press Journals. http://www.mitpressjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1162/qjec.121.3.1103. Retrieved 2009-10-02.
  49. ^ "The impact of the introduction of the Euro on foreign exchange rate risk exposures". Journal of Empirical Finance. ScienceDirect. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VFG-4KB14MN-1&_user=121712&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000009979&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=121712&md5=9da59b5525252985a70618a2dafbc141. Retrieved 2009-10-02.
  50. ^ "Front Quark — EURO.qxd" (PDF). http://www.tcd.ie/iiis/documents/discussion/pdfs/iiisdp139.pdf. Retrieved 2009-10-02.
  51. ^ "The geography of asset trade and the euro: Insiders and outsiders". Journal of the Japanese and International Economies. ScienceDirect. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6WMC-4TXF7WY-1&_user=10&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=2c6125b54140decec22b1a1afcb622e0. Retrieved 2009-10-02.
  52. ^ "SSRN-Global Bond Portfolios and EMU by Philip R. Lane". Papers.ssrn.com. 2006-08-22. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=925858. Retrieved 2009-10-02.
  53. ^ "Rev. Financ. Stud. – Sign In Page". Rfs.oxfordjournals.org. http://rfs.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/full/hhn101. Retrieved 2009-10-02.
  54. ^ "Microsoft Word — plane Title page.doc" (PDF). http://www.eabcn.org/research/documents/lane.pdf. Retrieved 2009-10-02.
  55. ^ ECB.eu
  56. ^ "Price convergence in the EMU? Evidence from micro data" (PDF). http://opus.zbw-kiel.de/volltexte/2009/7575/pdf/200906dkp.pdf. Retrieved 2009-10-02.
  57. ^ "July8helene.dvi" (PDF). http://faculty.london.edu/hrey/IMRRtele.pdf. Retrieved 2009-10-02.
  58. ^ "Uni-Muenchen.de" (PDF). http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/835/1/MPRA_paper_835.pdf. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
  59. ^ "Fedea.es" (PDF). http://www.fedea.es/pub/Papers/2005/dt2005-22.pdf. Retrieved 2010-05-30.
  60. ^ http://www.wiso.uni-hamburg.de/hepdoc/macppr_4_2009.pdf
  61. ^ "SSRN-The Effect of EMU on Tourism by Salvador Gil-Pareja, Rafael Llorca-Vivero, José Martínez-Serrano". Papers.ssrn.com. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=983231. Retrieved 2009-10-02.
  62. ^ ECB official rates against the U.S. dollar from ecb.eu
  63. ^ ECB official rates against the British pound from ecb.eu
  64. ^ "One possible outcome of Greece crisis: Only splitting the Euro will save it". http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704804204575069570005834614.html.
  65. ^ "European Central Bank, Covergence report May 2007" (PDF). http://www.ecb.int/pub/pdf/conrep/cr200705en.pdf. Retrieved 2008-12-29. "The euro is the single currency of the Member States that have adopted it. To make this singleness apparent, Community law requires a single spelling of the word euro in the nominative singular case in all Community and national legislative provisions, taking into account the existence of different alphabets."
  66. ^ SofiaEcho.com, "EVRO" Dispute over Portuguese Foreign Minister.
  67. ^ For example, see European Commission, Directorate General for Translation: English Style Guide section 20.8 "The euro. Like 'pound', 'dollar' or any other currency name in English, the word 'euro' is written in lower case with no initial capital and, where appropriate, takes the plural 's' (as does 'cent')." European Commission Directorate-General for Translation – English Style Guide.

Further reading

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: euro

Official websites

Other

Links to related articles
Topics on the euro
Topics Linguistic issues · International status and usage · Euro sign · Eurozone · Euro calculator · Economic & Monetary Union
Administration European Central Bank (ESCB · Eurosystem · President) · Eurogroup · Ecofin · Stability & Growth Pact · European Financial Stability Facility
History "Snake in the tunnel" · European Monetary System (I: ECU · II: ERM · III: EMU) · European Monetary Institute · Enlargement · Black Wednesday
Related EU economy · Economy of Europe · Eonia · Euribor · Global economy · Other currencies · Reserve currency · SEPA · World currency
Denominations
coins 1c · 2c · 5c · 10c · 20c · 50c · €1 · €2 · €2 commemorative coins · Other commemorative coins · Identifying marks · Starter kits · Europa coin programme
banknotes €5 · €10 · €20 · €50 · €100 · €200 · €500
Coins by country
adopted EU: Austria · Belgium · Cyprus · Finland · France · Germany · Greece · Ireland · Italy · Luxembourg · Malta · Netherlands · Portugal · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain Non-EU: Monaco · San Marino · Vatican
targeted Estonia · Latvia · Lithuania
Adoption by other countries
EU Bulgaria · Czech Republic · Denmark · Hungary · Poland · Romania · Sweden · United Kingdom
Non-EU Andorra · Iceland · Kosovo · Montenegro
Yielded currencies European Currency Unit · Austrian schilling · Belgian franc · Cypriot pound · Deutsche Mark · Dutch guilder · Finnish markka · French franc · Greek drachma · Irish pound · Italian lira · Luxembourgish franc · Maltese lira · Monegasque franc · Portuguese escudo · Sammarinese lira · Slovak koruna · Slovenian tolar · Spanish peseta · Vatican lira
Remaining currencies
ERM II Danish krone · Estonian kroon · Latvian lats · Lithuanian litas
other (EU) British pound (plus Gibraltar pound) · Bulgarian lev · Czech koruna · Hungarian forint · Polish złoty · Romanian leu · Swedish krona
Numismatics Portal · European Union Portal
European Union topics
History
Timeline Pre-1945 · 1945–1957 · 1958–1972 · 1973–1993 · 1993–2004 · since 2004
European Coal and Steel Community (1951–2002) · European Economic Community (1958–1993) · Euratom (1958–present) · European Communities (1967–1993) ·
Governance
Institutions Parliament · European Council · Council of Ministers · Commission · European Court of Justice · Central Bank · Court of Auditors
Agencies Eurojust · Europol · Frontex · Environment · Reconstruction · Disease Prevention and Control
Politics Elections · European Parliament constituencies · European Parliament groups · Political parties · Enlargement ('95 · '04 · '07) · Integration · Pro-Europeanism · Euroscepticism · Foreign relations · Euromyth
Law Acquis · Competition law · Copyright law · Directive · Journal · Government procurement · Four freedoms (Labour mobility) · Procedure · Regulation · Schengen Agreement · Charter of Fundamental Rights · Treaties (Opt-outs) · Enhanced co-operation
Geography Borders · Extreme points · Largest municipalities · Largest urban areas · Largest metropolitan areas · Larger Urban Zones · Member States · Special territories · Regions
Economy Currencies · Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) · Budget · Euro · Central Bank · Investment Bank · Investment Fund · Eurozone · Energy · Regional development · Single Market · FTAs · Solidarity Fund · Transport (Galileo system)
Culture Citizenship (Passports) · Demographics · Driving licence · Education · Institute of Innovation and Technology · Laissez-Passer · Languages · Religion · Sport · Holidays · Telephone numbers · Symbols · Statistics · Douzelage · Greater Europe
Lists Agencies · Councils · Directives · Political parties · Presidency · NUTS regions · Tallest buildings · Vehicle registration plates · Acronyms, jargon and working practices
Theory Supranationalism · Intergovernmentalism · Supranational union · Multi-speed Europe · Eurosphere
Portal
Currencies of Europe
Northern British pound sterling (Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey) · Danish krone (Faroe Islands) · Estonian kroon · Euro (Eurozone) · Faroese króna · Guernsey pound · Icelandic króna · Jersey pound · Latvian lats · Lithuanian litas · Manx pound · Norwegian krone · Swedish krona
Eastern Abkhazian apsar (unrecognized) · Armenian dram (Nagorno-Karabakh) · Azerbaijani manat · Belarusian ruble · Bulgarian lev · Euro (Eurozone) · Czech koruna · Georgian lari · Hungarian forint · Kazakhstani tenge · Moldovan leu · Nagorno-Karabakh dram (unrecognized) · Polish złoty · Romanian leu · Russian ruble (Abkhazia, South Ossetia) · Transnistrian ruble (unrecognized) · Ukrainian hryvnia
Southern Albanian lek · Bosnia-Herzegovina convertible mark · British pound sterling (Gibraltar) · Croatian kuna · Euro (Eurozone; San Marino, Vatican City; Akrotiri and Dhekelia, Andorra, Kosovo, Montenegro) · Gibraltar pound · Macedonian denar · Serbian dinar · Turkish lira (Northern Cyprus)
Western Euro (Eurozone; Monaco) · Swiss franc (Liechtenstein; Campione d'Italia; Büsingen am Hochrhein)
Currencies of the European Union
Currencies of Africa
North Algerian dinar · Euro (Plazas de soberanía) · Egyptian pound · Libyan dinar · Mauritanian ouguiya · Moroccan dirham · Sudanese pound · Tunisian dinar
Central Angolan kwanza · Burundian franc · Central African CFA franc (Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, and Gabon) · Congolese franc · Rwandan franc
West Cape Verdean escudo · Euro (Canary Islands, Madeira) · Gambian dalasi · Ghanaian cedi · Guinean franc · Liberian dollar · Nigerian naira · São Tomé and Príncipe dobra · Sierra Leonean leone · West African CFA franc (Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo)
East Comorian franc · Djiboutian franc · Eritrean nakfa · Ethiopian birr · Kenyan shilling · Seychellois rupee · Somali shilling · Somaliland shilling (unrecognized) · Tanzanian shilling · Ugandan shilling
South Botswana pula (Zimbabwe) · British pound sterling (Saint Helena, Zimbabwe) · Euro (French Southern and Antarctic Lands, Mayotte, Réunion, Zimbabwe) · Lesotho loti · Malawian kwacha · Malagasy ariary · Mauritian rupee · Mozambican metical · Namibian dollar · Saint Helena pound · South African rand (Lesotho, Namibia, Swaziland, Zimbabwe) · Swazi lilangeni · U.S. dollar (Zimbabwe) · Zambian kwacha · Zimbabwean dollar
Currencies of the Americas
North Bermudian dollar · Canadian dollar (Canada, Saint Pierre and Miquelon) · Danish krone (Greenland) · Euro (Saint Pierre and Miquelon) · Mexican peso · U.S. dollar
Central Belize dollar · Costa Rican colón · Guatemalan quetzal · Honduran lempira · Nicaraguan córdoba · Panamanian balboa · U.S. dollar (El Salvador, Panama)
Caribbean Aruban florin · Bahamian dollar · Barbadian dollar · Cayman Islands dollar · Cuban peso · Cuban convertible peso · Dominican peso · East Caribbean dollar (Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) · Euro (Saint Martin, Saint Barthélemy, Guadeloupe, Martinique) · Haitian gourde · Jamaican dollar · Netherlands Antillean gulden · Trinidad and Tobago dollar · U.S. dollar (Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands; British Virgin Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands)
South Argentine peso · Boliviano · Brazilian real · British pound sterling (British Antarctic Territory, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands) · Chilean peso · Colombian peso · Euro (French Guiana) · Falkland Islands pound · Guyanese dollar · Paraguayan guaraní · Peruvian nuevo sol · Surinamese dollar · U.S. dollar + Ecuadorian centavo coins (Ecuador) · Uruguayan peso · SUCRE (currency) · Venezuelan bolívar
Currencies of Asia
Central Kazakhstani tenge · Kyrgyzstani som · Tajikistani somoni · Turkmenistan manat · Uzbekistani som
East Chinese yuan (Hong Kong, Macau, Mongolia) · Hong Kong dollar · Japanese yen · Macanese pataca · Mongolian tögrög · North Korean won · South Korean won · New Taiwan dollar
North Russian ruble
South Afghan afghani · Bangladeshi taka · Bhutanese ngultrum · Indian rupee (Bhutan) · Maldivian rufiyaa · Nepalese rupee · Pakistani rupee (Afghanistan) · Sri Lankan rupee · U.S. dollar (Afghanistan, British Indian Ocean Territory)
Southeast Brunei dollar (Singapore) · Cambodian riel · Chinese yuan (Myanmar, Vietnam) · Indonesian rupiah · Lao kip · Malaysian ringgit · Myanma kyat · Philippine peso · Singapore dollar (Brunei) · Thai baht · U.S. dollar + East Timorese centavo (East Timor) · Vietnamese đồng
West Abkhazian apsar (unrecognized) · Armenian dram (Nagorno-Karabakh) · Azerbaijani manat · Bahraini dinar · Egyptian pound (Gaza Strip) · Euro (Cyprus) · Georgian lari · Iranian rial · Iraqi dinar · Israeli new sheqel (Palestinian terrtories) · Jordanian dinar (West Bank) · Kuwaiti dinar · Lebanese pound · Nagorno-Karabakh dram (unrecognized) · Omani rial · Russian ruble (Abkhazia, South Ossetia) · Qatari riyal · Saudi riyal · Syrian pound · Turkish lira (Northern Cyprus) · UAE dirham · Yemeni rial

Categories: Currencies of Europe | Circulating currencies | Currencies of Africa | Currencies of the Americas | Currencies of Asia | 1999 in economics | Economy of the European Union | Karlspreis recipients | Monetary unions | Symbols of the European Union

 

The above information uses material from Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Some facts may not have been fully verified for accuracy. [Disclaimers]
This page was last archived by our server on Fri Jul 30 18:17:14 2010. [ refresh local cache ]
Displaying this page or its contents does not use any Wikimedia Foundation's resources.
The owners of this site proudly support the Wikimedia Foundation.

[Hide]▼
'Euro' News
Swiss Franc Extends Gains on Speculation Economic Indicators Recovering - Bloomberg
bloomberg.com
Swiss Franc Extends Gains on Speculation Economic Indicators Recovering - Bloomberg
Fri, 30 Jul 2010 09:49:18 GMT+00:00
Bloomberg The Swiss franc rose for a third day against the euro before a report today that economists said would ... SNB Seen Selling Some Euro Holdings Wall Street Journal (blog) Franc Rallies Second Day on Speculation Economy Is Improving BusinessWeek Fans of Swiss Franc Face Pain as Currency Slides Wall Street Journal
Google News Search: Euro,
Fri Jul 30 09:59:00 2010
'Euro' Images
1
ilmarengo.com
1
600px x 600px | 80.30kB

[source page]

Anche un semplice euro puo contribuire ad aiutare la popolazione colpita dal sisma in abruzzo

Yahoo Images Search: Euro,
Sat Jul 24 19:57:09 2010
'Euro' Blogs
WORLD FOREX: Euro Hits Near 12-Week High Vs Dollar; US Economy ...
tradercurrencies.com
WORLD FOREX: Euro Hits Near 12-Week High Vs Dollar; US Economy ...

"Forex" - Google News

hu, 29 Jul 2010 20:27:16 GM

comWorld forex: . Euro. Hits Near 12-Week High Vs Dollar; US Economy WeighsWall Street JournalNew york (Dow Jones)-- The . euro. rose above $1.31, hitting its highest point in nearly 12 weeks Thursday as improving ...FOREX-. Euro. breaks above ...

Google Blogs Search: Euro,
Thu Jul 29 19:35:25 2010
'Euro' Answers
Whats the difference between euro and us?
Q. Hi i have two american great danes. We want a third one but its a euro. Is there a difference in the temperament? Can some please help me out?
Asked by greatdaneluver - Wed Nov 19 00:35:51 2008 - - 1 Answers - 0 Comments

A. no, but they bark with an accent, and tend to get a little cranky when they don't get their tea
Answered by bonkie - Wed Nov 19 00:57:18 2008

Yahoo Answers Search: Euro,
Fri Jul 30 09:59:38 2010
[Hide]▲