To participate in the currency, member states are meant to meet strict criteria, such as a budget deficit of less than 3% of their GDP, a debt ratio of less than 60% of GDP (both of which were ultimately widely flouted after introduction), 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 resulted in the introduction of the euro. All circulating coins have a common side showing the denomination or value, and a map in the background.
These are the average exchange rates of these two currencies for the last 30 and 90 days. As of January 2014, and since the introduction of the euro, interest rates of most member countries (particularly those with a weak currency) have decreased. In the absence of a specific agreement concerning the means of payment, creditors are obliged to accept payment in euros. The euro is the official currency of 20 European Union countries which collectively make up the euro area, also known as the eurozone. Use of the Euro outside the EUA number of sovereign states that are not part of the European Union have since adopted the Euro, including the Principality of Andorra, the Principality of Monaco, the Republic of San Marino, and the Vatican City. The Euro is used as a trading currency in Cuba, North Korea, and Syria and several currencies are pegged to it.
(The euro is also the official currency in several areas outside the EU, including Andorra, Montenegro, Kosovo, and San Marino.) The 20 participating EU countries are known as the euro area, euroland, or the euro zone. 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).
Unlike most of the national currencies that they replaced, euro banknotes do not display famous national figures. The seven colourful bills, designed by the Austrian artist Robert Kalina and ranging in denomination from €5 to €500, symbolize the unity of Europe and feature a map of Europe, the EU’s flag, and arches, bridges, gateways, and windows. The coins feature one side with city credit capital jobs in holborn a common design; the reverse sides’ designs differ in each of the individual participating countries. It was introduced as a noncash monetary unit in 1999, and currency notes and coins appeared in participating countries on January 1, 2002. After February 28, 2002, the euro became the sole currency of 12 EU member states, and their national currencies ceased to be legal tender.
- The United Kingdom, which was a member of the European Union from 1973 to 2020, did not use the euro.
- (The euro is also the official currency in several areas outside the EU, including Andorra, Montenegro, Kosovo, and San Marino.) The 20 participating EU countries are known as the euro area, euroland, or the euro zone.
- Bulgaria has negotiated an exception; euro in the Bulgarian Cyrillic alphabet is spelled eвро (evro) and not eуро (euro) in all official documents.[125] In the Greek script the term ευρώ (evró) is used; the Greek “cent” coins are denominated in λεπτό/ά (leptó/á).
- Euro cash was not introduced until 1 January 2002, when it replaced, at fixed conversion rates, the banknotes and coins of the national currencies like the Belgian franc and the Deutsche Mark.
- Take our quiz and test your knowledge of the euro (and the European Central Bank).
- 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.
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 euro is managed and administered by the European Central Bank (ECB, Frankfurt am Main) and the Eurosystem, composed of the central https://www.day-trading.info/advanced-markets-forex-broker/ banks of the eurozone countries. As an independent central bank, the ECB has sole authority to set monetary policy. The Eurosystem participates in the printing, minting and distribution of euro banknotes and coins in all member states, and the operation of the eurozone payment systems.
Use as reserve currency
The treaty called for a common unit of exchange, the euro, and set strict criteria for conversion to the euro and participation in the EMU. These requirements included annual budget deficits not exceeding 3 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), public debt under 60 percent of GDP, exchange rate stability, inflation rates within 1.5 percent of the three lowest inflation rates in the EU, and long-term inflation rates within 2 percent. Although several states had public debt ratios exceeding 60 percent—the rates topped 120 percent in Italy and Belgium—the European Commission (the executive branch of the EU) recommended their entry into the EMU, citing the significant steps each country had taken to reduce its debt ratio. 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.
Euro in various official EU languages
Greece initially failed to meet the economic requirements but was admitted in January 2001 after overhauling its economy. 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.
Create a chart for any currency pair in the world to see their currency history. These currency charts use live mid-market rates, are easy to use, and are very reliable. These are the lowest points the exchange rate has been at in the last 30 and 90-day periods. These are the highest points the exchange rate has been at in the last 30 and 90-day periods.
Due to the linguistic plurality in the European Union, the Latin alphabet version of euro is used (as opposed to the less common Greek or Cyrillic) and Arabic numerals (other text is used on national sides in national languages, but other text on the common side is avoided). For the denominations except the 1-, 2- and 5-cent coins, the map only showed the 15 member states of the union as of 2002. Beginning in 2007 or 2008 (depending on the country), the old map was replaced by a map of Europe also showing countries outside the EU.[35] The 1-, 2- and 5-cent coins, however, keep their old design, showing a geographical map of Europe with the EU member states as of 2002, raised somewhat above the rest of the map. 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 that has adopted the euro. It is the second-most traded currency on the forex market, after the US Dollar, and also a major global reserve currency.
Value of Obsolete National CurrenciesEuro bank notes and coins began circulating in 2002 with old notes and coins gradually being withdrawn from circulation. The precise dates that each old currency ceased being legal tender and their official fixed rates are shown in the table below. These countries generally had previously implemented a currency peg to one of the major European currencies (e.g. the French franc, Deutsche Mark or Portuguese escudo), and when these currencies were replaced by the euro their currencies became pegged 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.
The Maastricht Treaty was amended by the 2001 Treaty of Nice,[19] which closed the gaps and loopholes in the Maastricht and Rome Treaties. Spelling and CapitalizationThe official spelling of the EUR currency unit is “euro”, with a lower case “e”; however, the common industry practice is to spell it “Euro”, with a capital “E”. Many languages have different official spellings for the Euro, which also may or may not coincide with general use. Additionally, there are various nicknames for the currency including, Ege (Finnish), Pavo (Spanish), and Euráče (Slovak). Our currency rankings show that the most popular Euro exchange rate is the EUR to USD rate.
Popular Euro (EUR) Currency Pairings
All EU countries except Denmark, which has an opt-out, are expected to join the monetary union and to introduce the euro as soon as they fulfil the convergence criteria. Since 2005, stamps issued by the Sovereign Military Order of Malta have been denominated in euros, although the Order’s official currency remains the Maltese scudo.[74] The Maltese scudo itself is pegged to the euro and is only recognised as legal tender within the Order. These private and business transactions are still subject to taxation law, business law, anti-money laundering law and other general commodity trade rules.
Special territories of members of the European Economic Area
For local phonetics, cent, use of plural and amount formatting (€6,00 or 6.00 €), see Language and the euro. In general, those in Europe who own large amounts of euro are served by high stability and low inflation. Outside the eurozone, two EU member states have currencies that are pegged to the euro, which is a https://www.topforexnews.org/news/what-is-natural-language-processing-working-and/ precondition to joining the eurozone. The Danish krone and Bulgarian lev are pegged due to their participation in the ERM II. Take our quiz and test your knowledge of the euro (and the European Central Bank). The United Kingdom, which was a member of the European Union from 1973 to 2020, did not use the euro.
