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Euro

ευρώ (Greek)
евро (Bulgarian)
euró (Hungarian)
eoró (Irish)
ewro (Maltese)
evro (Slovene)

Banknotes Coins ISO 4217 Code EUR (num. 978) Official user(s) 15 Eurozone members  Austria
 Belgium
 Cyprus
 Finland
 France
 Germany
 Greece
 Ireland
 Italy
 Luxembourg
 Malta
 Netherlands
 Portugal
 Slovenia
 Spain 5 with formal agreement Mayotte
 Monaco
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
 San Marino
 Vatican City Unofficial user(s) 6 without formal agreement Akrotiri and Dhekelia

 Andorra
 Kosovo
 Montenegro
 Saint Barthélemy

Saint-Martin Inflation 3.2% Source European Central Bank, April 2008 Method HICP Pegged by 10 currencies Bosnia & Herz. convertible mark
Bulgarian lev
Cape Verdean escudo
Central African CFA franc
CFP franc
Comorian franc
Danish krone (±2.25%)
Estonian kroon
Lithuanian litas
West African CFA franc Subunit 1/100 cent
actual usage varies depending on language Symbol € Plural See Euro linguistic issues cent See article Coins Freq. used 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 cent, €1, €2
unless otherwise stated as rarely used Rarely used 1 and 2 cent
(applies to Finland and The Netherlands) Banknotes Freq. used €5, €10, €20, €50 Rarely used €100, €200, €500 Central bank European Central Bank Website www.ecb.eu Printer printers 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 websites 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

The euro (currency sign: €; banking code: EUR) is the official currency of the European Union (EU), used in 15 member states known collectively as the Eurozone (Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain). It is also used in 9 other countries around the world, 7 of those being in Europe. Hence it is the single currency for over 320 million Europeans.[1] Including areas using currencies pegged to the euro, the euro directly affects close to 500 million people worldwide.[2] With more than €610 billion in circulation as of December 2006 (equivalent to US$802 billion at the exchange rates at the time), the euro is the currency with the highest combined value of cash in circulation in the world, having surpassed the U.S. dollar.[3]

The euro was introduced to world financial markets as an accounting currency in 1999 and launched as physical coins and banknotes on 1 January 2002. It replaced the former European Currency Unit (ECU) at a ratio of 1:1.

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

While all European Union (EU) member states are eligible to join if they comply with certain monetary requirements, not all EU members have chosen to adopt the currency. All nations that have joined the EU since the 1993 implementation of the Maastricht Treaty have pledged to adopt the euro in due course. Maastricht obliged current members to join the euro; however, the United Kingdom and Denmark negotiated exemptions from that requirement for themselves.[4] Sweden turned down the euro in a 2003 referendum, and has circumvented the requirement to join the euro area by not meeting the membership criteria. In addition, three European microstates (Vatican City, Monaco, and San Marino), although not EU members, have adopted the euro due to currency unions with member states. Andorra, Montenegro, and Kosovo have adopted the euro unilaterally, while not being EU members either (see Eurozone.)

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