The euro (€ The Euro sign is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the Eurozone. 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) is the official currency In monetary economics Currency can refer either to a particular currency, for example British Pounds or United States Dollars, or, to the coins and banknotes of a particular currency, which actually form only a small part of the monetary base of a nation’s money supply. The other part of a nation’s money supply consists of money deposited in of 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 de facto 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 of the European Union The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 member states, located primarily in Europe. It was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993, upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community. With a population of almost 500 million, the EU generates an estimated 30% share (US$18.4 trillion in 2008) (EU). The states, known collectively as the Eurozone The eurozone is a currency union of 16 European Union (EU) states which have adopted the euro as their sole legal tender. It currently consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain. Eight other states are obliged to adopt the zone, are Austria Austria /ˈɔstria/ (help·info) (German: Österreich) ( Österreich), officially the Republic of Austria (German: Republik Österreich) ( Republik Österreich (help·info)), is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east,, Belgium The Kingdom of Belgium /ˈbɛldʒəm/ 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 km2 (11,787 square miles) and has a population of about 10.7 million, Cyprus Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus (Greek: Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία, Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía, [cipɾiaˈci ðimo̞kɾaˈtia]; Turkish: Kıbrıs Cumhuriyeti), is a Eurasian island country situated in the eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece , west of Lebanon, Syria and Israel, north of Egypt and south of Turkey, Finland Finland /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 borders Sweden on the west, Russia on the east, and Norway on the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland. The capital city is, France France ( /ˈfræns/ or /ˈfrɑːns/; French pronunciation: [fʁɑ̃s]), officially the French Republic (French: République française, French pronunciation: [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean, Germany Germany /ˈdʒɜrməni/ , officially the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland (help·info), IPA: [ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant]), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and, Greece Greece /ˈɡriːs/ (Greek: Ελλάδα, transliterated: Elláda [e̞ˈlaða] , historically Ἑλλάς, Hellás, IPA: [e̞ˈlas]), officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία, Ellīnikī́ Dīmokratía, [e̞liniˈkʲi ðimo̞kɾaˈtia]), is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan, Ireland Ireland (pronounced /ˈaɪɚlənd/ , locally [ˈaɾlənd] – Irish: Éire, pronounced [ˈeːɾʲə] (help·info)) is an independent state in north-western Europe. The modern sovereign state occupies about five-sixths of the island of Ireland, which was partitioned on 3 May 1921. It is a parliamentary democracy and a republic. It is bordered by, Italy Italy /ˈɪtəli/ (Italian: Italia), officially the Italian Republic (Italian: Repubblica Italiana)(formed in 1947), is a country located 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 boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia, Luxembourg Luxembourg /ˈlʌksəmbɜrɡ/ , officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (Luxembourgish: Groussherzogtum Lëtzebuerg, French: Grand-Duché de Luxembourg, German: Großherzogtum Luxemburg), is a small, landlocked country in western Europe, bordered by Belgium, France, and Germany. Luxembourg has a population of under half a million people in an, Malta Malta /ˈmɔːltə/ , officially the Republic of Malta (Maltese: Repubblika ta' Malta), is a densely populated developed European country in the European Union. The island nation comprises an archipelago of seven islands situated in the Southern European areas of the Mediterranean sea, 93 km off the coast of Sicily (Italy), 288 km east of Tunisia, the Netherlands The Netherlands [ˈnɛðɚləndz] (Dutch: Nederland (help·info), [ˈneːdərlɑnt]) is a country that is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy. The Netherlands is located in Northwestern Europe, and bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the, Portugal Portugal /ˈpɔrtʃəɡəl/ , officially the Portuguese Republic (Portuguese: República Portuguesa), is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Located in southwestern Europe, Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east. The Atlantic archipelagos, Slovakia The Slovak Republic /sloʊˈvɑːkiə/ (short form: Slovakia; Slovak: Slovensko (help·info), long form Slovenská republika (help·info)) is a landlocked country in Central Europe with a population of over five million and an area of about 49,000 square kilometres (almost 19,000 square miles). It borders the Czech Republic and Austria to the west,, Slovenia Slovenia /sloʊˈviːniə/ , officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: Republika Slovenija, listen (help·info)), is a country in Central Europe bordering Italy to the west, the Adriatic Sea to the southwest, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north. The capital of Slovenia is Ljubljana, and Spain Spain /ˈspeɪn/ (Spanish: España (help·info), Spanish pronunciation: [esˈpaɲa]) or the Kingdom of Spain (Spanish: Reino de España), is a country 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 a small land boundary with Gibraltar; to the north. The currency is also used in a further five European countries, with The international status and usage of the euro has grown since its launch in 1999. When the euro formally replaced 12 currencies on 1 January 2002, it inherited their use in territories such as Montenegro and they replaced minor currencies tied to the pre-euro currencies such as in Monaco. Three small states have been given a formal right to use and without The international status and usage of the euro has grown since its launch in 1999. When the euro formally replaced 12 currencies on 1 January 2002, it inherited their use in territories such as Montenegro and they replaced minor currencies tied to the pre-euro currencies such as in Monaco. Three small states have been given a formal right to use formal agreements and is consequently used daily by some 327 million Europeans.^[2] Over 175 million people worldwide use currencies which are pegged to the euro, including more than 150 million people in Africa.

The euro is the second largest reserve currency A reserve 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 and the second most traded currency in the world after the U.S. dollar The United States dollar is the unit of currency of the United States and is defined by the Coinage Act of 1792 to be between 371 and 416 grains (27.0 g) of silver (depending on purity). 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.^[3] As of November 2008^[update], with more than €751 billion in circulation, the euro is the currency with the highest combined value of cash 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.^[4][5] Based on IMF estimates of 2008 GDP The gross domestic product or gross domestic income (GDI), a basic measure of an economy's economic performance, is the market value of all final goods and services made within the borders of a nation in a year. GDP can be defined in three ways, all of which are conceptually identical. First, it is equal to the total expenditures for all final and purchasing power parity The purchasing power parity theory uses the long-term equilibrium exchange rate of two currencies to equalize their purchasing power. Developed by Gustav Cassel in 1920, it is based on the law of one price: the theory states that, in ideally efficient markets, identical goods should have only one price 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 (the word ECU, pronounced either /eky/, /ɛkʊ/, or /iː'siː'juː/) 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 (ECU) at a ratio of 1:1. Euro coins A coin is a piece of hard material, usually metal or a metallic material, 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 vast numbers of bullion coins. In the present day, coins and banknotes make up the 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 money. With the exception of non-circulating high-value or precious metal commemorative issues, coins entered circulation on 1 January 2002.

Contents 1 Administration 2 Characteristics 2.1 Coins and banknotes 2.2 Payments clearing, electronic funds transfer 2.3 Currency sign 3 The Introduction of the euro 4 Direct and indirect usage 4.1 Direct usage 4.2 Usage as reserve currency 4.3 Currencies pegged to the euro 5 Economics 5.1 Optimal currency area 5.2 Transaction costs and risks 5.3 Price parity 5.4 Macroeconomic stability 6 Exchange rates 6.1 Flexible exchange rates 6.2 Against other major currencies 7 Linguistic issues 8 See also 9 Notes and references 10 Further reading 11 External links 11.1 Official websites 11.2 Other

Administration

The ECB The European Central Bank is one of the world's most important central banks, responsible for monetary policy covering the 16 member States of the Eurozone. It was established by the European Union (EU) in 1998 with its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany in Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main (German: [ˈfʁaŋkfʊɐtʰ], English: [ˈfɹæŋkfɜːt]) is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2008 population of 670,000. The urban area had an estimated population of 2.26 million in 2001. The city is at the centre of the larger Frankfurt Rhine Main Region which has a, Germany Germany /ˈdʒɜrməni/ , officially the Federal Republic of Germany (German: Bundesrepublik Deutschland (help·info), IPA: [ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant]), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and, is in charge of the Eurozone's monetary policy Main articles: European Central Bank The European Central Bank is one of the world's most important central banks, responsible for monetary policy covering the 16 member States of the Eurozone. It was established by the European Union (EU) in 1998 with its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany and Maastricht Treaty The Maastricht Treaty was signed on 7 February 1992 in Maastricht, the Netherlands after final negotiations on 9 December 1991 between the members of the European Community and entered into force on 1 November 1993 during the Delors Commission. It created the European Union and led to the creation of the euro. The Maastricht Treaty has been

The euro is managed and administered by the Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main (German: [ˈfʁaŋkfʊɐtʰ], English: [ˈfɹæŋkfɜːt]) is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2008 population of 670,000. The urban area had an estimated population of 2.26 million in 2001. The city is at the centre of the larger Frankfurt Rhine Main Region which has a-based European Central Bank The European Central Bank is one of the world's most important central banks, responsible for monetary policy covering the 16 member States of the Eurozone. It was established by the European Union (EU) in 1998 with its headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany (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 the entity responsible for the monetary policy of a country or of a group of member states. It is a bank that can lend money to other banks in times of need. Its primary responsibility is to maintain the stability of the national currency and money supply, but more active duties include 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 government, central bank, or monetary authority of a country controls the supply of money, (ii) availability of money, and (iii) cost of money or rate of interest, in order to attain a set of objectives oriented towards the growth and stability of the economy. Monetary theory provides insight into how to. 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 coins of the euro, ranging in value from one cent to two euros . The coins first came into use in 2002. The coins have a common reverse, portraying a map of Europe, but each country in the Eurozone has its own design on the obverse (including the three European microstates with currency agreements: Monaco, San Marino and the 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 in Maastricht, the Netherlands after final negotiations on 9 December 1991 between the members of the European Community and entered into force on 1 November 1993 during the Delors Commission. It created the European Union and led to the creation of the euro. The Maastricht Treaty has been obliges most EU member states to adopt the euro upon meeting certain monetary and budgetary requirements The euro convergence criteria are the criteria for European Union member states to enter the third stage of European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and adopt the euro as their currency. The four main criteria are based on Article 121(1) of the European Community Treaty, however, 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 respective national authorities. Main articles: euro coins There are eight coins of the euro, ranging in value from one cent to two euros . The coins first came into use in 2002. The coins have a common reverse, portraying a map of Europe, but each country in the Eurozone has its own design on the obverse (including the three European microstates with currency agreements: Monaco, San Marino and the and euro banknotes 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

The euro is divided into 100 cents In many national currencies, the cent is a monetary unit that equals 1/100 of the basic monetary unit. The word also refers to the coin which is worth one cent (sometimes referred to as euro-cents, especially when distinguishing them from other currencies). In official contexts the plural forms of euro and cent are spelled without the s, notwithstanding normal English usage.^[9] Otherwise, normal English plurals are recommended and used.^[10] 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 Norway (pronounced /ˈnɔɹweɪ/ ; Norwegian: Norge (Bokmål) or Noreg (Nynorsk)), officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty. The majority of the country shares a border to. 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 Luc Luycx is the designer of the common side of the euro coins. 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, 50-cent, 20-cent, 10-cent, 5-cent, 2-cent, and 1-cent 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).^[11]

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.^[12]

The design for the euro banknotes have common designs on both sides. The design was created by Robert Kalina.^[13] 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.^[14] 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

All intra-EU transfers in euro are considered as domestic payments and bear the corresponding domestic transfer costs.^[15] This includes all member States of the EU, even those outside the Eurozone providing the transactions are carried out in euro.^[16] 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.^[17]

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.^[18]

“

Inspiration for the € symbol itself came from the Greek epsilon (Є) – 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.

”

The European Commission also specified a euro logo with exact proportions and foreground/background colour tones.^[20] 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.^[21] 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, and there is no official recommendation on the issue.^[22]

The Introduction of the euro

Main article: Introduction of the euro

Preceding national currencies of the Eurozone

Currency	Code	Rate	Fixed on	Yielded
Austrian schilling	ATS	13.7603	31 December 1998	2002
Belgian franc	BEF	40.3399	31 December 1998	2002
Dutch guilder	NLG	2.20371	31 December 1998	2002
Finnish markka	FIM	5.94573	31 December 1998	2002
French franc	FRF	6.55957	31 December 1998	2002
German mark	DEM	1.95583	31 December 1998	2002
Irish pound	IEP	0.787564	31 December 1998	2002
Italian lira	ITL	1,936.27	31 December 1998	2002
Luxembourgian franc	LUF	40.3399	31 December 1998	2002
Portuguese escudo	PTE	200.482	31 December 1998	2002
Spanish peseta	ESP	166.386	31 December 1998	2002
Greek drachma	GRD	340.750[23]	19 June 2000	2002
Slovenian tolar	SIT	239.640[24]	11 July 2006	2007
Cypriot pound	CYP	0.585274[25]	10 July 2007	2008
Maltese lira	MTL	0.429300[26]	10 July 2007	2008
Slovak koruna	SKK	30.1260[27]	8 July 2008	2009

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 Robert Mundell, Wim Duisenberg, Robert Tollison, Neil Dowling, Fred Arditti and Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa. (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,^[28] and officially adopted in Madrid on 16 December 1995.^[7]

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,^[29] 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.^[30]

The currency was introduced in non-physical form (travellers' 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

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 Eurozone ERM II members unilaterally adopted other EU members special adoption agreement

Direct usage

The euro is the sole currency of 16 EU member states: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain. These countries comprise the "Eurozone" or "Euro Area", some 326 million people in total.

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 two former Yugoslavian states (Montenegro and Kosovo) and several European micro states (Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City) as well as in overseas territories (Mayotte, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Akrotiri and Dhekelia, Saint Barthélemy and Saint Martin). 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,^[31] North Korea and Syria.^[32] There are also various currencies pegged to the euro (see below). In 2009 Zimbabwe announced to abandon its local currency and use major currencies instead including the euro and the US-dollar.^[33]

Usage 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 the status of the second most important reserve currency from the German mark. The rise in its reserve currency status was not gradual, rather a 4.4% jump in 2002 was the result of the introduction of euro banknotes and coins in the same year and of international public awareness.

The euro remains underweight as a reserve currency in advanced economies while overweight in emerging and developing economies: according to the IMF^[34] 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.^[35] 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."^[36] 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.^[34]

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 Main article: Currencies related to the euro

Outside the Eurozone, a total of 23 countries and territories which do not belong to the EU have currencies that are directly pegged to the euro including 14 countries in mainland Africa (they use the CFP franc, the CFA franc and the Moroccan dirham), 2 African island countries (Comorian franc and Cape Verdean escudo), 3 French Pacific territories and another Balkan country, Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark).

With the exception of Bosnia and Herzegovina (which pegged their 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. This means that the euro is the direct or indirect currency for over half a billion people worldwide.

Economics

Optimal currency area

Main article: 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.^[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.

Exchange rates

U.S. dollars per 1 euro 1999-2009

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		05 Mar	$1.2555		2 Jun	$1.4238
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. This explains why the exchange rate of the euro vis-à-vis other currencies is characterised by strong fluctuations. Most notable are the fluctuations of the euro versus the U.S. dollar, another free-floating currency. However this focus on the dollar-euro parity is partly subjective. It is taken as a reference because the euro competes with the dollar's role as reserve currency. The effect of this selective reference is misleading, as it gives observers the impression that a rise in the value of the euro versus the dollar is the effect of increased global strength of the euro, while it may be the effect of an intrinsic weakening of the dollar itself.

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 then began steadily appreciating, and soon regained parity with the U.S. dollar, on 15 July 2002. Since December 2002, the euro has not again fallen below parity with the U.S. dollar but instead began an ascendency.

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.^[40] On 29 December 2008, the pound sterling fell to an all-time low of £0.97855 (€1.0219/£) against the euro.^[41]

• Current and historical exchange rates against 29 other currencies (European Central Bank)
• Current dollar/euro exchange rates (BBC)
• Historical exchange rate from 1971 until now

Current EUR exchange rates
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.^[42] This may contradict normal rules for word formation in some languages; e.g., those where there is no eu diphthong. For non-legally binding texts in English, the European Commission's Directorate-General for Translation recommends that the plural forms euros and cents should be used when appropriate.^[43]

See also

Topics on the euro Topics Linguistic issues · International status and usage · Euro sign · Eurozone · Petroeuro Administration European Central Bank (ESCB · Eurosystem · President) · Economic & Monetary Union · Ecofin · Stability & Growth Pact · Eurogroup History "Snake in the tunnel" · European Monetary System (I: ECU · II: ERM · III: EMU) · European Monetary Institute · Introduction · Enlargement Related EU economy · Economy of Europe · Eonia · Euribor · Global economy · Reserve currency · World currency Denominations coins €0.01 · €0.02 · €0.05 · €0.10 · €0.20 · €0.50 · €1 · €2 · €2 commemorative coins · Other commemorative coins · Identifying marks · Starter kits · Europa Coins 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 · Croatia · 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 · Luxembourgian 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

Notes and 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 on 2009-04-01. This term is sometimes adopted by the media(Google hits for the phrase)
2. ^ "What is EMU?". Eurodesigncontest.eu. http://www.eurodesigncontest.eu/emu.cfm?lang=en. Retrieved on 23 November 2008.
3. ^ http://www.bis.org/publ/rpfxf07t.pdf
4. ^ This figure is sourced in dollars and converted into euro based on the exchange rate for 28 November 2008 of €1 = US$1.2694: the European Central Bank (16 December 2008). "Banknotes and coins circulation". http://www.ecb.int/stats/euro/circulation/html/index.en.html. Retrieved on 1 January 2009. "Historic exchange rates". http://www.x-rates.com/cgi-bin/hlookup.cgi. Retrieved on 1 January 2009.
5. ^ Atkins, Ralph (2006-12-27). "Euro notes cash in to overtake dollar". Financial Times. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/18338034-95ec-11db-9976-0000779e2340.html. Retrieved on 4 May 2007.
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 on 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 on 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 on 5 January 2009.
7. ^ ^{a b} "Madrid European Council (12/95): Conclusions". European Parliament. http://www.europarl.europa.eu/summits/mad1_en.htm. Retrieved on 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 on 29 January 2009.
9. ^ European Commission. "How to use the euro name and symbol". http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/the_euro/notes_coins8958_en.htm. Retrieved on 16 November 2008. ; 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 on 26 November 2008.
10. ^ 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 on 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 on 16 November 2008.
11. ^ 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 on 26 January 2009.
12. ^ European Commission (15 February 2003). "Commission communication: The introduction of euro banknotes and coins one year after COM(2002) 747". [[Europa (web portal)|]]. http://europa.eu/scadplus/leg/en/lvb/l25058.htm. Retrieved on 26 January 2009.
13. ^ Robert Kalina, designer of the euro banknotes, at work at the Oesterreichische Nationalbank in Vienna.
14. ^ 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 on 2009-05-29.
15. ^ "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 on 26 December 2008.
16. ^ "Cross border payments in the EU, Euro Information, The Official Treasury Euro Resource". United Kingdom Treasury. http://www.euro.gov.uk/crossborder.asp. Retrieved on 26 December 2008.
17. ^ the European Central Bank. "TARGET". http://www.ecb.int/paym/target/html/index.en.html. Retrieved on 25 October 2007.
18. ^ 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.
19. ^ "European Commission - Economic and Financial Affairs - How to use the euro name and symbol". Ec.europa.eu. 1998-05-03. http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/the_euro/notes_coins8958_en.htm. Retrieved on 5 January 2009.
20. ^ "The €uro: Our Currency". europa.eu. http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/euro/notes_and_coins/symbol_en.htm. Retrieved on 25 October 2007.
21. ^ Siebert, Jürgen (2002). "The Euro: From Logo to Letter". Font Magazine (2). http://www.fontshop.com/features/fontmag/002/02_euro/.
22. ^ "Frequently Asked Questions". europa.eu. http://www.delidn.ec.europa.eu/en/references/references_5.htm#Q12. Retrieved on 25 October 2007.
23. ^ Greece failed to meet the criteria for joining initially, so it did not join the common currency on 1 January 1999. It was admitted two years later, on 1 January 2001, with a Greek drachma (GRD) exchange rate of 340.750.
24. ^ The final exchange rate was agreed on 11 July 2006. However, this rate was not formally effective until the tolar was succeeded by the euro on 1 January 2007.
25. ^ The final exchange rate was agreed on 10 July 2007. However, this rate was not formally effective until the pound was succeeded by the euro on 1 January 2008.
26. ^ The final exchange rate was agreed on 10 July 2007. However, this rate was not formally effective until the lira was succeeded by the euro on 1 January 2008.
27. ^ The final exchange rate was agreed on 8 July 2008. However, this rate was not formally effective until the koruna was succeeded by the euro on 1 January 2009.
28. ^ "Germain Pirlot 'uitvinder' van de euro" (in Dutch). De Zeewacht. 2007-02-16. http://www.agendaplus.info/artikeleuro.jpg. Retrieved on 2009-02-14.
29. ^ by means of Council Regulation 2866/98 (EC) of 31 December 1998.
30. ^ by Council Regulation 1478/2000 (EC) of 19 June 2000.
31. ^ "Cuba to adopt Euro in foreign trade". BBC News. 1998-11-08. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/210441.stm. Retrieved on 2008-01-02.
32. ^ "US row leads Syria to snub dollar". BBC News. 2006-02-14. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4713622.stm. Retrieved on 2008-01-02.
33. ^ "Zimbabwe: A Critical Review of Sterp". 2009-04-17. http://allafrica.com/stories/200904170690.html. Retrieved on 2009-04-30.
34. ^ ^{a b} http://www.imf.org/external/np/sta/cofer/eng/cofer.pdf
35. ^ "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.
36. ^ "Reuters". Euro could replace dollar as top currency - Greenspan. http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSL1771147920070917. Retrieved on 17 September 2007.
37. ^ A Plan for a European Currency, 1973 by Mundell
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 on 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/books?id=EaIV0OWlaokC.
40. ^ ECB official rates against the U.S. dollar from ecb.eu
41. ^ ECB official rates against the British pound from ecb.eu
42. ^ "European Central Bank, Covergence report May 2007" (PDF). http://www.ecb.eu/pub/pdf/conrep/cr200705en.pdf. Retrieved on 29 December 2008. "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."
43. ^ 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

• Baldwin, Richard and Charles Wyplosz, The Economics of European Integration, New York: McGraw Hill, 2004.
• European Commission, High Level Task Force on Skills and Mobility - Final Report, 14 December 2001.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: euro

Official websites

• The euro – Europa
  • English style guide PDF (665 KB)
• European Central Bank
  • Security features
  • Exchange rates

Other

• The Euro Information Site – ibiblio
• The symbolic power of the euro - Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung

Links to related articles European Union topics History Timeline Pre-1945 · 1945–1957 · 1958–1972 · 1973–1993 · 1993–1999 · 1999–2004 · since 2004 European Coal and Steel Community (1951–2002) · European Economic Community (1958–1993) · Euratom (1958–present) · European Communities (1967–1993) · Governance Pillars I: European Community · II: Common Foreign and Security Policy · III: Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters Institutions European Parliament · European Commission · European Council · Council of the European Union · European Court of Justice · Court of First Instance Agencies Eurojust · Europol · Frontex · Environment · Reconstruction · Disease Prevention and Control · Others Politics Elections · European Parliament constituencies · European Parliament groups · Political parties · Enlargement · Integration · Pro-Europeanism · Euroscepticism · Foreign relations · Euromyth Law Acquis · Competition law · Copyright law · Directive · Journal · 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 Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) · Budget · Euro · Central Bank · Investment Bank · Investment Fund · Eurozone · Energy · Regional development · Transport (Galileo system) Culture Citizenship · Demographics · Education · Institute of Innovation and Technology · Languages · News media · Religion · Sport · Symbols · Statistics Lists Agencies · Councils · Directives · Largest municipalities · Largest urban areas · Largest metropolitan areas · Larger Urban Zones · Political parties · Presidency · Tallest buildings · Vehicle registration plates · Acronyms, Jargon and Working Practices Theory Supranationalism · Intergovernmentalism · Supranational union · Multi-speed Europe · Eurosphere Portal Currencies of Europe Eurozone Euro Northern Danish krone · Faroese króna · Icelandic króna · Norwegian krone · Swedish krona Baltic Estonian kroon · Latvian lats · Lithuanian litas British Islands British pound sterling · Guernsey pound · Jersey pound · Manx pound Central Czech koruna · Hungarian forint · Polish złoty · Swiss franc Eastern Belarusian ruble · Kazakhstani tenge · Russian ruble · Ukrainian hryvnia Southeastern Albanian lek · Bosnia-Herzegovina convertible mark · Bulgarian lev · Croatian kuna · Macedonian denar · Moldovan leu · Romanian leu · Serbian dinar · Transnistrian ruble (unrecognised) Mediterranean Gibraltar pound · Turkish lira Transcaucasia Abkhazian apsar (unrecognised) · Armenian dram · Azerbaijani manat · Georgian lari · Karabakh dram (unrecognised) 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 · Euro (Mayotte, Réunion) · Lesotho loti · Malawian kwacha · Malagasy ariary · Mauritian rupee · Mozambican metical · Namibian dollar · Saint Helena pound · South African rand · Swazi lilangeni · Zambian kwacha · Zimbabwean dollar Currencies of the Americas Northern America Bermudian dollar · Canadian dollar · Danish krone (Greenland) · Euro (Saint Pierre and Miquelon) · Mexican peso · U.S. dollar Central America Belize dollar · Costa Rican colón · Guatemalan quetzal · Honduran lempira · Nicaraguan córdoba · Panamanian balboa · U.S. dollar (El Salvador) 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 (British Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Turks and Caicos Islands, U.S. Virgin Islands) South America Argentine peso · Bolivian boliviano · Brazilian real · Chilean peso · Colombian peso · Euro (French Guiana) · Falkland Islands pound · Guyanese dollar · Paraguayan guaraní · Peruvian nuevo sol · Surinamese dollar · U.S. dollar (Ecuador) · Uruguayan peso · SUCRE (currency) · Venezuelan bolívar Currencies of Asia Central Afghan afghani · Kazakhstani tenge · Kyrgyzstani som · Mongolian tögrög · Russian ruble · Tajikistani somoni · Turkmenistani manat · Uzbekistani som East Chinese yuan · Hong Kong dollar · Japanese yen · Macanese pataca · North Korean won · New Taiwan dollar · South Korean won South-East Brunei dollar · Cambodian riel · Indonesian rupiah · Lao kip · Malaysian ringgit · Myanma kyat · Philippine peso · Singapore dollar · Thai baht · U.S. dollar + East Timorese centavo (East Timor) · Vietnamese đồng South Bangladeshi taka · Bhutanese ngultrum · Indian rupee · Maldivian rufiyaa · Nepalese rupee · Pakistani rupee · Sri Lankan rupee West Abkhazian apsar (unrecognized) · Armenian dram · Azerbaijani manat · Bahraini dinar · Euro (Cyprus) · Georgian lari · Iranian rial · Iraqi dinar · Israeli new sheqel · Jordanian dinar · Karabakh dram (unrecognized) · Kuwaiti dinar · Lebanese pound · Omani rial · Qatari riyal · Saudi riyal · Syrian pound · Turkish lira · UAE dirham · Yemeni rial

Categories: Currencies of Europe | Circulating currencies | Currencies of Africa | Currencies of the Americas | Currencies of Asia | Economy of the European Union | Monetary unions | Karlspreis Recipients | Symbols of the European Union

 

 

See Also:

• Euro
• Euros
• Euron
• Eurot
• Euroja

Related 'Euro' Searches:

related terms:	Euro	Reserve Currency	Euro Banknotes	Eurozone
	Euro Coins	Exchange Rates	Exchange Rate	Germany
	European Currency	European Union	European Central	National Currencies

---

top user searches:	"ronda larkin"	"perk and pleasantry"	"bahka currency"	"ekaton currency"	"100 ekaton currency"	►
	"amerio dollar"	"dutch currency"	"sundaystandard bw"	"amerio currency"	"lek dedvukaj"

---

or search for "Euro" in:		Web:		The Entire Web	Web Directories	Related* Sites
		This Site:		Page Titles	Karr Network Sites*
		News:		Headlines	Weather	Events	Blogs
		Reference:		Encyclopedia	Dictionary	eTexts	Quotes
				Local Map	Answers
		Multimedia:		Images	Videos
		People:		Discussion Groups	Social Networking
		Shopping:		General Merch.	Consumer Opinion	Auctions	Classifieds

 

---

The Entire Web Web Directories Related* Sites Karr Network Sites* Page Titles Headlines Weather Events Blogs Encyclopedia Dictionary eTexts Quotes Answers Local Map Videos Images Social Networking Discussion Groups General Items Auctions Classifieds Consumer Opinion

Sitemap News Dictionary Encyclopedia Blogs Answers Videos Images Shopping Directory More…