Euro

The Euro (sign: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 of the member states of the European Union.

A monetary union was established in 1999 and came into full force in 2002 and is composed of 19 EU member states which use the euro currency.

This group of states is known as the eurozone or euro area, and counts about 343 million citizens.

The eurozone, officially called the euro area, is a monetary union of 19 of the 28 European Union (EU) member states which have adopted the euro as their common currency and sole legal tender.

The Euro (sign: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 of the member states of the European Union.

The inclusion of EU (denoting the European Union) in the ISO 3166-1 reserved codes list, allows the euro to be coded as EUR rather than assigned a code beginning with X, even though it is a supranational currency.

The currency is also used officially by the institutions of the European Union, by four European microstates that are not EU members, as well as unilaterally by Montenegro and Kosovo.

When the euro formally replaced 12 currencies on 1 January 2002, it inherited their use in territories such as Montenegro and replaced minor currencies tied to the pre-euro currencies, such as in Monaco.

The euro, which is divided into 100 cents, is the second-largest and second-most traded currency in the foreign exchange market after the United States dollar.

For example, it permits a business in the United States to import goods from European Union member states, especially Eurozone members, and pay Euros, even though its income is in United States dollars.

In late 2009, the euro became immersed in the European sovereign-debt crisis, which led to the creation of the European Financial Stability Facility as well as other reforms aimed at stabilising and strengthening the currency.

The euro came into existence on 1 January 1999, although it had been a goal of the European Union (EU) and its predecessors since the 1960s.

The euro is managed and administered by the Frankfurt-based European Central Bank (ECB) and the Eurosystem (composed of the central banks of the eurozone countries).

The European Central Bank (ECB) is the central bank for the euro and administers monetary policy within the Eurozone, which comprises 19 member states of the European Union and is one of the largest monetary areas in the world.

The euro was introduced to world financial markets as an accounting currency on 1 January 1999, replacing the former European Currency Unit (ECU) at a ratio of 1:1 (US$1.1743).

The European Currency Unit (₠ or ECU) 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 1 January 1999, at parity.

The Eurosystem participates in the printing, minting and distribution of notes and coins in all member states, and the operation of the eurozone payment systems.

Banknotes of the euro, the currency of the euro area and institutions, have been in circulation since the first series (also called ES1) was issued in 2002.

The Eurosystem participates in the printing, minting and distribution of notes and coins in all member states, and the operation of the eurozone payment systems.

There are eight euro coin denominations, ranging from one cent to two euros (the euro is divided into a hundred cents).

Outside Europe, a number of special territories of EU members also use the euro as their currency.

The euro is legal tender; however, they are outside the Schengen Area and the EU VAT Area.

The 1992 Maastricht Treaty obliges most EU member states to adopt the euro upon meeting certain monetary and budgetary convergence criteria, although not all states have done so.

The euro convergence criteria (also known as the Maastricht criteria) are the criteria which European Union member states are required to meet to enter the third stage of the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and adopt the euro as their currency.

The coins are issued in denominations of €2, €1, 50c, 20c, 10c, 5c, 2c, and 1c.

The 50 euro cent coin (€0.50) has a value of half a euro and are composed of an alloy called nordic gold.

The coins are issued in denominations of €2, €1, 50c, 20c, 10c, 5c, 2c, and 1c.

The 20 euro cent coin (€0.20) has a value of one fifth of a euro and is composed of an alloy called nordic gold in the Spanish flower shape.

The coins are issued in denominations of €2, €1, 50c, 20c, 10c, 5c, 2c, and 1c.

The 10 euro cent coin (€0.10) has a value of one tenth of a euro and is composed of an alloy called Nordic gold.

The coins are issued in denominations of €2, €1, 50c, 20c, 10c, 5c, 2c, and 1c.

The 5 euro cent coin (€0.05) has a value of one twentieth of a euro and is composed of copper-covered steel.

The 1992 Maastricht Treaty obliges most EU member states to adopt the euro upon meeting certain monetary and budgetary convergence criteria, although not all states have done so.

The treaty also greatly expanded the competences of the EEC/EU and led to the creation of the single European currency, the euro.

The coins are issued in denominations of €2, €1, 50c, 20c, 10c, 5c, 2c, and 1c.

The 2 euro cent coin (€0.02) has a value of one-fiftieth of a euro and is composed of copper-plated steel.

The coins are issued in denominations of €2, €1, 50c, 20c, 10c, 5c, 2c, and 1c.

The 1 euro cent coin (€0.01) has a value of one hundredth of a euro and is composed of copper-covered steel.

The Euro (sign: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 of the member states of the European Union.

Notes are issued in €500, €200, €100, €50, €20, €10, €5.

Notes are issued in €500, €200, €100, €50, €20, €10, €5.

Notes are issued in €500, €200, €100, €50, €20, €10, €5.

The fifty euro note (€50) is one of the middle value euro banknotes and has been used since the introduction of the euro (in its cash form) in 2002.

The euro was introduced to world financial markets as an accounting currency on 1 January 1999, replacing the former European Currency Unit (ECU) at a ratio of 1:1 (US$1.1743).

Many international transactions continue to be settled in this way, using a national value (most often expressed in the US dollar or euro) but with the actual settlement in something else.

Notes are issued in €500, €200, €100, €50, €20, €10, €5.