Euro: Difference between revisions

{{Short description|Currency of the European Union}}

{{about|the currency}}

{{redirect|EUR}}

{{Use British English|date=March 2013}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}

{{Infobox currency

| issuing_authority_website = {{URL|https://www.ecb.europa.eu}}

}}

{{Politics of the European Union}}

== Characteristics ==

{{Main|European Central Bank|Maastricht Treaty|Eurogroup}}

[[File:Seat of the European Central Bank and Frankfurt Skyline at dawn 20150422 1.jpg|thumb|260px|Seat of the [[European Central Bank]] in [[Frankfurt]], [[Germany]]]]

Through their ratification of the 1992 [[Maastricht Treaty]] (or subsequent [[Treaty of Accession|treaties of accession]]), most EU member states committed to adopt the euro upon meeting certain monetary and budgetary [[Euro convergence criteria|convergence criteria]], although not all participating states have done so. [[Denmark]] has negotiated exemptions,<ref>{{cite web|title=The Euro |publisher=European Commission|url=http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/euro/index_en.htm |access-date=29 January 2009}}</ref> while Sweden (which joined the EU in 1995, after the Maastricht Treaty was signed) turned down the euro in a [[2003 Swedish euro referendum|2003 non-binding referendum]], and has circumvented its commitment 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. The Maastricht Treaty was amended by the 2001 [[Treaty of Nice]], which closed the gaps and loopholes in the Maastricht and Rome Treaties.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Nice |first1=Treaty of |title=Treaty of Nice |url=https://www.europarl.europa.eu/about-parliament/en/in-the-past/the-parliament-and-the-treaties/treaty-of-nice |website=About Parliament |publisher= European Parliament |access-date=7 May 2021}}</ref>

== Countries that use the euro ==

{{Further|Euro#Direct and indirect usage}}

=== Eurozone members ===

{{main|Eurozone}}

* {{Flagcountry|Austria}}

* {{Flagcountry|Belgium}}

* {{Flagcountry|Croatia}}

* {{Flagcountry|Estonia}}

* {{Flagcountry|Finland}}

* {{Flagcountry|Germany}}

* {{Flagcountry|Greece}}

* {{Flagcountry|Luxembourg}}

* {{Flagcountry|Malta}}

* {{Flagcountry|Portugal}}

* {{Flagcountry|Slovakia}}

* {{Flagcountry|Slovenia}}

* {{Flagcountry|Spain}}

'''[[Special territories of members of the European Economic Area#Outermost Regions|EU Outermost Regions]]:'''

{{colbegin|colwidth=15em}}

** {{Flagcountry|French Guiana}}

** {{Flagcountry|Guadeloupe}}

** {{Flagcountry|Mayotte}}

** {{Flagcountry|Réunion}}

* {{Flagcountry|Portugal}}

** {{Flagcountry|Azores}}

** {{flagicon|Saint Barthélemy|local}} [[Saint Barthélemy]]

** {{flagicon|Saint Pierre and Miquelon|local}} [[Saint Pierre and Miquelon]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:1999:030:0029:0030:EN:PDF |title=By agreement of the EU Council |access-date=30 May 2010}}</ref>

'''[[Special territories of members of the European Economic Area#Special cases|Special Autonomous Territories]]:'''

=== Other users ===

'''Microstates with a monetary agreement:'''

* {{Flagcountry|Andorra}}<ref>{{cite journal |url=http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2011:369:0001:0013:EN:PDF |title=Monetary Agreement between the European Union and the Principality of Andorra |date=17 December 2011 |access-date=2012-09-08 |journal=[[Official Journal of the European Union]] |archive-date=10 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130510123910/http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2011:369:0001:0013:EN:PDF |url-status=dead }}</ref>

* {{Flagcountry|Monaco}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2002:142:0059:0073:EN:PDF |title=By monetary agreement between France (acting for the EC) and Monaco |access-date=30 May 2010}}</ref>

* {{Flagcountry|San Marino}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2001:209:0001:0004:EN:PDF |title=By monetary agreement between Italy (acting for the EC) and San Marino |access-date=30 May 2010}}</ref>

* {{Flagcountry|Vatican City}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:C:2001:299:0001:0004:EN:PDF |title=By monetary agreement between Italy (acting for the EC) and Vatican City |access-date=30 May 2010}}</ref>

* {{Flagcountry|Akrotiri and Dhekelia}}<ref>{{cite news |last=Theodoulou |first=Michael |date=27 December 2007 |url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article3097521.ece |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510204604/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article3097521.ece |title=Euro reaches field that is for ever England |work=The Times |access-date= 4 January 2008 |archive-date=10 May 2011}}</ref>

* {{Flagcountry|Kosovo}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unmikonline.org/regulations/admdirect/1999/089%20Final%20%20ADE%201999-02.htm |title=By UNMIK administration direction 1999/2 |publisher=Unmikonline.org |access-date=30 May 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110607234444/http://www.unmikonline.org/regulations/admdirect/1999/089%20Final%20%20ADE%201999-02.htm |archive-date=7 June 2011}}</ref>

* {{Flagcountry|Montenegro}}{{efn|See [[Montenegro and the euro]].}}

== EU members not using the euro ==

{{main|Enlargement of the eurozone|Currencies of the European Union}}

{{Anchor|EUnoEZ}}

=== Committed to adopt the euro <span class="anchor" id="Obliged to adopt the euro"></span> ===

{{See also|Czech Republic and the euro|Hungary and the euro|Poland and the euro|Romania and the euro|Sweden and the euro}}

* {{Flagcountry|Czechia}}

* {{Flagcountry|Hungary}}

The [[Maastricht Treaty]] of 1992 included protocols on Denmark and the United Kingdom, giving them opt-outs with the right to decide if and when they would adopt the euro.<ref name="UK">{{cite web|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199798/ldhansrd/vo980312/text/80312-21.htm|title=Volume: 587, Part: 120 (12 Mar 1998: Column 391, Baroness Williams of Crosby)|author=[[Parliament of the United Kingdom]]|date=12 March 1998|work=[[House of Lords]] [[Hansard]]|access-date=13 October 2007}}</ref>

== Coins and banknotes ==

=== Coins ===

{{Main|Euro coins}}

{{See also|List of Euro coin series|Identifying marks on euro coins}}

The euro is divided into 100 [[cent (currency)|cents]] (also referred to as ''euro cents'', especially when distinguishing them from other currencies, and referred to as such on the common side of all cent coins). In Community legislative acts the plural forms of ''euro'' and ''cent'' are spelled without the ''s'', notwithstanding normal English usage.<ref name="ec.europa.eu">{{cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/euro/cash/symbol/index_en.htm |title= How to use the euro name and symbol |publisher=European Commission |access-date=7 April 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/publication6336_en.pdf |title=Spelling of the words "euro" and "cent" in official Community languages as used in Community Legislative acts |access-date=26 November 2008 |author=European Commission }}</ref> Otherwise, normal English plurals are used,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://ec.europa.eu/translation/writing/style_guides/english/style_guide_en.pdf |title=English Style Guide: A handbook for authors and translators in the European Commission |access-date=16 November 2008 |author=European Commission Directorate-General for Translation |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101205092625/http://ec.europa.eu/translation/writing/style_guides/english/style_guide_en.pdf |archive-date=5 December 2010 }}; {{cite web |url=http://publications.europa.eu/code/en/en-370303.htm |title=Interinstitutional style guide, 7.3.3. Rules for expressing monetary units |access-date=16 November 2008 |author=European Union }}</ref> with many [[Linguistic issues concerning the euro|local variations]] such as ''centime'' in France.

The coins are issued in denominations of [[2 euro coins|€2]], [[1 euro coins|€1]], [[50 euro cent coin|50c]], [[20 euro cent coin|20c]], [[10 euro cent coin|10c]], [[5 euro cent coin|5c]], [[2 euro cent coin|2c]], and [[1 euro cent coin|1c]]. To avoid the use of the two smallest coins, some cash transactions are rounded to the nearest five cents in the Netherlands and Ireland<ref>{{cite web|url=http://neurope.eu/article/ireland-to-round-to-nearest-5-cents-starting-october-28/|title=Ireland to round to nearest 5 cents starting October 28|date=27 October 2015|access-date=17 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306012032/http://neurope.eu/article/ireland-to-round-to-nearest-5-cents-starting-october-28/|archive-date=6 March 2016|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.centralbank.ie/paycurr/Pages/rounding.aspx|title=Rounding |website= Central Bank of Ireland}}</ref> (by voluntary agreement) and in Finland and Italy (by law).<ref>{{cite web|author=European Commission|author-link=European Commission|title=Euro cash: five and familiar |url=http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/een/005/article_4324_en.htm |publisher=[[Europa (web portal)|Europa]] |date = January 2007|access-date=26 January 2009}}</ref> This practice is discouraged by the commission, as is the practice of certain shops of refusing to accept high-value euro notes.<ref>Pop, Valentina (22 March 2010) [http://euobserver.com/?aid=29737 "Commission frowns on shop signs that say: '€500 notes not accepted{{'"}}], ''[[EU Observer]]''</ref>

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"

|-

|-

|}

==== Coin minting ====

A number of institutions are authorised to mint euro coins:

* [[Bavarian Central Mint|Bayerisches Hauptmünzamt]] ([[Mint mark]]: D)

* [[Currency Centre]]

* [[Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato]]

* [[Royal Belgian Mint|Koninklijke Munt van België/Monnaie Royale de Belgique]]

* [[Royal Dutch Mint|Koninklijke Nederlandse Munt]]

* [[Lithuanian Mint|Lietuvos monetų kalykla]]

* [[Staatliche Münze Berlin]] (A)

* [[Staatliche Münzen Baden-Württemberg]] (F): Stuttgart, (G): Karlsruhe

=== Banknotes ===

{{Main|Euro banknotes}}

[[File:Various Euro banknotes.jpg|thumb|First series of Euro banknotes of various denominations]]

==== Issuing modalities for banknotes ====

{| class="wikitable"  style="margin:auto; font-size:90%;"

==== Banknote printing ====

* [[Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato]]

* [[Banco de Portugal]]

* [[Bank of Greece]]

* [[Bank of France]]

* [[Bundesdruckerei]]

* [[Central Bank of Ireland]]

* [[De La Rue]]

* [[Royal Mint (Spain)|Real Casa de la Moneda]]

* [[Giesecke+Devrient]]

* [[Joh. Enschedé|Royal Joh. Enschedé]]

* [[Oesterreichische Nationalbank]]

* [[Setec (Company of Finland)|Setec Oy]]

=== Payments clearing, electronic funds transfer ===

{{Euro adoption past|group="note"}}

The rates were determined by the [[Council of the European Union]],{{efn|by means of Council Regulation 2866/98 (EC) of 31 December 1998.}} 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 [[pound sterling]]) that day.

=== Currency sign ===

{{Main|Euro sign}}

[[File:Euro Construction.svg|thumb|right|Graphic construction of the euro logo]]

The European Commission also specified a euro logo with exact proportions.<ref name="design, rules" /> Placement of the currency sign relative to the numeric amount varies from state to state, but for texts in English published by EU institutions, the symbol (or the [[International Organization for Standardization|ISO]]-standard "EUR") should precede the amount.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://publications.europa.eu/code/en/en-370303.htm#position|title=Position of the ISO code or euro sign in amounts|date=5 February 2009|work=Interinstitutional style guide|publisher=Europa Publications Office|access-date=10 January 2010|location=Bruxelles, Belgium}}</ref>

=== Eurozone crisis ===

{{main|Euro area crisis|Greek government-debt crisis}}

{{see also|2008–2011 Icelandic financial crisis}}

]]

According to the [[Economist Intelligence Unit]] in 2011, "[I]f the [euro area] is treated as a single entity, its [economic and fiscal] position looks no worse and in some respects, rather better than that of the US or the UK" and the budget deficit for the euro area as a whole is much lower and the euro area's government debt/GDP ratio of 86% in 2010 was about the same level as that of the United States. "Moreover", they write, "private-sector indebtedness across the euro area as a whole is markedly lower than in the highly leveraged [[Anglosphere|Anglo-Saxon]] economies". The authors conclude that the crisis "is as much political as economic" and the result of the fact that the euro area lacks the support of "institutional [[paraphernalia]] (and mutual bonds of solidarity) of a state".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://pages.eiu.com/rs/eiu2/images/EuroDebtPaperMarch2011.pdf |title=State of the Union: Can the euro zone survive its debt crisis?|page=4 |publisher=[[Economist Intelligence Unit]] |date=1 March 2011 |access-date=1 December 2011}}</ref>

=== Agreed direct usage with minting rights ===

=== Agreed direct usage without minting rights ===

=== Unilateral direct usage ===

=== Currencies pegged to the euro ===

{{Main|International status and usage of the euro}}

[[File:DOLLAR AND EURO IN THE WORLD.svg|thumb|upright=1.35|Worldwide use of the euro and the US dollar:

{{Legend|#092D98|[[Eurozone]]}}

{{Legend|#999909|Currencies pegged to the US dollar}}

{{Legend|#FFFF99|Currencies pegged to the US dollar within narrow band}}

In total, {{As of|2013|lc=y}}, 182&nbsp;million people in Africa use a currency pegged to the euro, 27&nbsp;million people outside the eurozone in Europe, and another 545,000 people on Pacific islands.<ref name="2013_data_sheet"/>

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]].<ref name=smom>{{cite web| url = https://www.orderofmalta.int/associate-countries/| title = Retrieved 3 October 2017.}}</ref> The Maltese scudo itself is pegged to the euro and is only recognised as legal tender within the Order.

'''Europe'''

* {{Flagcountry|Bosnia and Herzegovina}} ([[Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark]], {{ISO 4217|BAM}})

* {{Flagcountry|Denmark}} ([[Danish krone]], {{ISO 4217|DKK}})

* {{Flagcountry|Sovereign Military Order of Malta}} ([[Maltese scudo]])<ref>{{Cite web |title=Numismatica|url=https://www.ordinedimaltaitalia.org/article/numismatica |access-date=2022-04-30 |website=Ordine di Malta Italia}}</ref>

'''Oceania'''

* {{Flagcountry|French Polynesia}} ([[CFP franc]], {{ISO 4217|XPF}})

* {{Flagcountry|Wallis and Futuna}} (CFP franc)

'''Africa'''

* {{Flagcountry|Cape Verde}} ([[Cape Verdean escudo]], {{ISO 4217|CVE}})

* {{Flagcountry|Central African Republic}} (Central African CFA franc)

* {{Flagcountry|Chad}} (Central African CFA franc)

* {{Flagcountry|Equatorial Guinea}} (Central African CFA franc)

* {{Flagcountry|Gabon}} (Central African CFA franc)

* {{Flagcountry|São Tomé and Príncipe}} ([[São Tomé and Príncipe dobra]], {{ISO 4217|STN}})

* {{Flagcountry|Togo}} (West African CFA franc)

=== Use as reserve currency ===

In economics, an optimum currency area, or region (OCA or OCR), is a geographical region in which it would maximise economic efficiency to have the entire region share a single currency. There are two models, both proposed by [[Robert Mundell]]: the [[Optimum currency area#OCA with stationary expectations|stationary expectations model]] and the [[Optimum currency area#OCA with international risk sharing|international risk sharing model]]. Mundell himself advocates the international risk sharing model and thus concludes in favour of the euro.<ref>{{cite book|chapter=A Plan for a European Currency |date=1970 |orig-year=published 1973|last=Mundell |first=Robert|editor1=Johnson, H. G. | editor2= Swoboda, A. K. | title = The Economics of Common Currencies{{snd}} Proceedings of Conference on Optimum Currency Areas. 1970. Madrid. | publisher= Allen and Unwin | location = London |pages= 143–172 | isbn= 9780043320495}}</ref> However, even before the creation of the single currency, there were concerns over diverging economies. Before the [[late-2000s recession]] it was considered unlikely that a state would leave the euro or the whole zone would collapse.<ref>{{cite journal |ssrn=1014341 |title=The Breakup of the Euro Area by Barry Eichengreen |date=14 September 2007 |journal=[[NBER Working Paper]] |number=w13393|last1=Eichengreen |first1=Barry }}</ref> However the [[Greek government-debt crisis]] led to former [[British Foreign Secretary]] [[Jack Straw]] claiming the eurozone could not last in its current form.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-13839381 |title=Greek debt crisis: Straw says eurozone 'will collapse' |work=[[BBC News]] |date=20 June 2011 |access-date=17 July 2011}}</ref> Part of the problem seems to be the rules that were created when the euro was set up. John Lanchester, writing for ''[[The New Yorker]]'', explains it: {{blockquote|The guiding principle of the currency, which opened for business in 1999, were supposed to be a set of rules to limit a country's annual deficit to three per cent of gross domestic product, and the total accumulated debt to sixty per cent of G.D.P. It was a nice idea, but by 2004 the two biggest economies in the euro zone, Germany and France, had broken the rules for three years in a row.<ref>John Lanchester, "Euro Science", ''The New Yorker'', 10 October 2011.</ref>}}

=== Transaction costs and risks ===

=== Flexible exchange rates ===

=== Against other major currencies ===

{{multiple image

}}

{{Exchange Rate|EUR|SEK|PLN|style=navbox}} <!-- The major world currencies are included "as standard", so this list is just for the two major European currencies  not on the default list. For other currencies, see the corresponding table at its article, which will give its rate v the euro. -->

== Political considerations ==

=== Eurozone ===

{| class="wikitable sortable sticky-header"

! Country !! For % !! Against %

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|}

{| class="wikitable sortable sticky-header"

! Country !! For % !! Against %

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|-

|}

== ''Euro'' in various official EU languages ==

{{Main|Language and 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ecb.int/pub/pdf/conrep/cr200705en.pdf|title=European Central Bank, Convergence Report|date= May 2007|quote=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.|access-date=29 December 2008}}</ref> This may contradict normal rules for word formation in some languages.

In summary:

| [[German language|German]]

| {{lang|de|Euro}}

|-

| [[Greek language|Greek]]

{{Portal|European Union|Europe}}

* [[History of the European Union]]

* [[List of circulating currencies]]

* [[List of currencies in Europe]]

== Notes ==

{{European Union topics}}

{{Currencies of Europe}}

{{Currencies of Africa}}

{{Charlemagne Prize recipients}}

}}

[[Category:1999 in economic history]]

[[Category:Currencies introduced in 1999]]

[[Category:Circulating currencies]]