Euro
ευρώ (Greek)
€1 coin
ISO 4217 Code	EUR (num. 978)
Official user(s)	Eurozone (17)[show]  Austria  Belgium  Cyprus[note 4]  Estonia  Finland  France[note 5]  Germany  Greece  Ireland  Italy[note 6]  Luxembourg  Malta  Netherlands[note 7]  Portugal  Slovakia  Slovenia  Spain 4 states with issuing rights[show]  Andorra[note 8]  Monaco[note 9]  San Marino[note 10]  Vatican City[note 11] 4 territories outside the EU[show] Akrotiri and Dhekelia (UK)[note 12] Clipperton Island (France) French Southern and Antarctic Lands (France) Saint Pierre and Miquelon (France)[note 13]
Unofficial user(s)	3 other users[show]  Kosovo[note 1]  Montenegro[note 2]  Zimbabwe[note 3]
Inflation	2.8%, April 2011
Method	HICP
Pegged by	10 currencies[show] Bosnia & Herz. convertible mark Bulgarian lev Cape Verdean escudo Central African CFA franc CFP franc Comorian franc Danish krone (±2.25%) Latvian lats Lithuanian litas West African CFA franc
Symbol	€
Nickname	The single currency[1] local names[show] Ege (Finnish) Eumeln (German) Quid (Hiberno-English) Teuro (German) Juró (Hungarian)
Plural	See Euro linguistic issues
Coins	1c, 2c, 5c, 10c, 20c, 50c, €1, €2
Banknotes	€5, €10, €20, €50, €100, €200, €500
Central bank	European Central Bank
Website	www.ecb.europa.eu
Printer	Several, click to [show] Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato Banco de Portugal Bank of Greece Banque de France Bundesdruckerei Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland De La Rue Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre François-Charles Oberthur Giesecke & Devrient Royal Joh. Enschedé National Bank of Belgium Oesterreichische Banknoten- und Sicherheitsdruck GmbH Setec Oy
Website	Several, click to [show] Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato Banco de Portugal – Imprensa Nacional / Casa da Moeda Bank of Greece Banque de France Bundesdruckerei Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland De La Rue Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre François-Charles Oberthur Giesecke & Devrient Royal Joh. Enschedé National Bank of Belgium Oesterreichische Banknoten- und Sicherheitsdruck GmbH Setec Oy
Mint	Several, click to [show] Bayerisches Hauptmünzamt, Munich (Mint mark: D) Currency Centre Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre Hamburgische Münze (J) Imprensa Nacional Casa da Moeda SA Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt Koninklijke Munt van België/Monnaie Royale de Belgique Mincovňa Kremnica Monnaie de Paris Münze Österreich Rahapaja Oy/Myntverket i Finland Ab Staatliche Münze Berlin (A) Staatliche Münze Karlsruhe (G) Staatliche Münze Stuttgart (F)
Website	Several, click to

Further reading

• Baldwin, Richard; Wyplosz, Charles (2004). The Economics of European Integration. New York: McGraw Hill. ISBN 0077103947. 
• Buti, Marco; Deroose, Servaas; Gaspar, Vitor; Nogueira Martins, João (2010). The Euro. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9789279098420. 
• Jordan, Helmuth (2010). "Fehlschlag Euro". Dorrance Publishing. http://dorrance.stores.yahoo.net/feeurzufleuk.html. 

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: euro

Official websites

• The euro – Europa
• European Central Bank
  • Security features
  • Exchange rates

Other

• The Euro Information Site – ibiblio
• The symbolic power of the euro – Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung
• Historical Documentation of EMU and the euro
• Euro in crisis dossier by Radio France Internationale in English June 2010
• Euro against other major currencies from 1971

[hide] Links to related articles [hide]v · d · eTopics 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 · European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism  · European Stability Mechanism · Euro Plus Pact 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 · Estonia · Finland · France · Germany · Greece · Ireland · Italy · Luxembourg · Malta · Netherlands · Portugal · Slovakia · Slovenia · Spain   Non-EU: Monaco · San Marino · Vatican targeted 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 · Dutch guilder · Estonian kroon · Finnish markka · French franc · German mark · 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 · Latvian lats · Lithuanian litas other (EU) British pound (inc. Gibraltar pound) · Bulgarian lev · Czech koruna · Hungarian forint · Polish złoty · Romanian leu · Swedish krona Numismatics Portal · European Union Portal [hide]v · d · eEuropean Union topics History Timeline Pre-1945 · 1945–1957 · 1958–1972 · 1973–1993 · 1993–2004 · since 2004 Predecessors European Coal and Steel Community (1951–2002) · European Economic Community (1958–1993/2009) · Euratom (1958–present) · European Communities (1967–1993/2009) · Justice and Home Affairs (1993–2009) · Details Governance Institutions Parliament · European Council · Council of Ministers · Commission · European Court of Justice · Central Bank · Court of Auditors Agencies European Banking Authority · Eurojust · Europol · Frontex · Environment · Reconstruction · Disease Prevention and Control · External Action Service · Maritime Safety Politics Elections · European Parliament constituencies · European Parliament groups · Political parties · Enlargement ('95 · '04 · '07) · Integration · Pro-Europeanism · 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(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) · South Sudanese pound  · 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 [hide]v · d · eCurrencies of the Americas North Canadian dollar · 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 · Bermudian dollar · Cayman Islands dollar · Cuban peso · Cuban convertible peso · Dominican peso · East Caribbean dollar (Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, 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 guilder (Curaçao, Sint Maarten) · Trinidad and Tobago dollar · U.S. dollar (Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands; British Virgin Islands, Caribbean Netherlands, 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 · Ecuadorian centavo coins (Ecuador) · Euro (French Guiana) · Falkland Islands pound · Guyanese dollar · Paraguayan guaraní · Peruvian nuevo sol · Surinamese dollar · U.S. dollar · Uruguayan peso · Venezuelan bolívar [hide]v · d · eCurrencies of Asia Central Kazakhstani tenge · Kyrgyzstani som · Tajikistani somoni · Turkmenistan manat · Uzbekistani som East Chinese yuan · Hong Kong dollar · Japanese yen · Macanese pataca · Mongolian tögrög · North Korean won · South Korean won · New Taiwan dollar North Russian ruble South Bangladeshi taka · Bhutanese ngultrum · Indian rupee (Bhutan) · Maldivian rufiyaa · Nepalese rupee · Pakistani rupee  · Sri Lankan rupee · U.S. dollar British Indian Ocean Territory) Southeast Brunei dollar (Singapore) · Cambodian riel · 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)  · Afghan afghani · 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 [hide]v · d · eCurrencies of post-Soviet states in circulation Abkhazian apsar (unrecognized) · Armenian dram · Azerbaijani manat · Belarusian ruble · Euro (Estonia) · Georgian lari · Kazakhstani tenge · Kyrgyzstani som · Latvian lats · Lithuanian litas · Moldovan leu · Nagorno-Karabakh dram (unrecognized) · Russian ruble (Russia and Abkhazia (unrecognized) and South Ossetia (unrecognized)) · Tajikistani somoni · Transnistrian ruble (unrecognized) · Turkmenistan manat · Ukrainian hryvnia · Uzbekistani som obsolete Chechen naxar (unrecognized) · Estonian kroon · Georgian kupon lari · Latvian rublis · Lithuanian talonas · Moldovan cupon · Soviet ruble · Tajikistani ruble · Ukrainian karbovanets [hide]v · d · eRecipients of the Charlemagne Prize Richard Nikolaus Graf Coudenhove-Kalergi (1950) · Hendrik Brugmans (1951) · Alcide de Gasperi (1952) · Jean Monnet (1953) · Konrad Adenauer (1954) · Sir Winston S. Churchill (1956) · Paul Henri Spaak (1957) · Robert Schuman (1958)  · George C. Marshall (1959) · Joseph Bech (1960) · Walter Hallstein (1961) · Edward Heath (1963) · Antonio Segni (1964) · Jens Otto Krag (1966) · Joseph Luns (1967) · The European Commission (1969) · François Seydoux de Clausonne (1970) · Roy Jenkins (1972) · Don Salvador de Madariaga (1973) · Leo Tindemans (1976) · Walter Scheel (1977) · Konstantinos Karamanlis (1978) · Emilio Colombo (1979) · Simone Veil (1981) · King Juan Carlos of Spain (1982) · The People of Luxembourg (1986) · Henry A. Kissinger (1987) · François Mitterrand and Helmut Kohl (1988) · Frère Roger (1989) · Gyula Horn (1990) · Václav Havel (1991) · Jacques Delors (1992) · Felipe González Márquez (1993) · Gro Harlem Brundtland (1994) · Franz Vranitzky (1995) · Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands (1996) · Roman Herzog (1997) · Bronisław Geremek (1998) · Anthony (Tony) Charles Lynton Blair (1999) · William Jefferson (Bill) Clinton (2000) · György Konrád (2001) · The euro (2002) · Valéry Giscard d'Estaing (2003) · Pat Cox (2004) · Extraordinary prize: Pope John Paul II (2004) · Carlo Azeglio Ciampi (2005) · Jean-Claude Juncker (2006) · Javier Solana (2007) · Angela Merkel (2008) · Andrea Riccardi (2009) · Donald Tusk (2010) · Jean-Claude Trichet (2011)

The euro (sign: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain.^[2][3] The currency is also used in a further five European countries (Montenegro, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City) and the disputed territory of Kosovo. It is consequently used daily by some 332 million Europeans.^[4] Additionally, 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 as well as the second most traded currency in the world after the United States dollar.^[5][6] As of July 2011^[update], with nearly €890 billion in circulation, the euro has the highest combined value of banknotes and coins in circulation in the world, having surpassed the U.S. dollar.^{[note 14]} Based on International Monetary Fund estimates of 2008 GDP and purchasing power parity among the various currencies, the eurozone is the second largest economy in the world.^[7]

The name euro was officially adopted on 16 December 1995.^[8] 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. Euro coins and banknotes entered circulation on 1 January 2002.^[9]

Since late 2009 the euro has been immersed in the European sovereign debt crisis which has led to the state bonds of three eurozone states to be downgraded to "junk" status, and the creation of the European Financial Stability Facility.

[edit] Administration

The ECB in Frankfurt, Germany, is in charge of the eurozone's monetary policy

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). As an independent central bank, the ECB has sole authority to set monetary policy. 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.

The 1992 Maastricht Treaty 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,^[10] while Sweden (which joined the EU in 1995, after the Maastricht Treaty was signed) 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.

[edit] Characteristics