Euro History

Introduction of the Euro
On January 1, 1999, eleven of the countries in the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) decided to give up their own currencies and adopt the Euro (EUR) currency: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain. The Vatican City also participated in that changeover. Greece followed suit on January 1, 2001, Slovenia on January 1 2007, Malta and Cyprus on January 1, 2008, and Slovakia on January 1, 2009.

Supplemental Euro Regions
Any region that previously used currencies from the above countries has also adopted the Euro. This applies to the Principality of Andorra, the Principality of Monaco, and the Republic of San Marino. This also applies to any territories, departments, possessions, or collectivities of Euro-zone countries, such as the Azores, Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Europa Island, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Juan de Nova, the Madeira Islands, Martinique, Mayotte, Reunion, Saint-Martin, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, to name just a few.

Value of Obsolete National Currencies
Euro bank notes and coins began circulating in the above countries on January 1, 2002. At that time, all transactions in those countries were valued in Euro, and the "old" notes and coins of these countries were gradually withdrawn from circulation. The precise dates that each "old" currency ceased being legal tender are noted in the table below.

For convenience, and because their values are now irrevocably set against the Euro as listed above, the XE Universal Currency Converter will continue to support these units even after their withdrawal from circulation. In addition, most outgoing Euro currencies will still be physically convertible at special locations for a period of several years. For details, refer to the official Euro site listed in the Relevant Links section below.

Former European Currency Unit (ECU)
The Euro is not just the same thing as the former European Currency Unit (or "ECU"), which used to be listed in our services as "XEU". The ECU was a theoretical "basket" of currencies rather than a currency in and of itself, and no "ECU" bank notes or coins ever existed. At any rate, the ECU has been replaced by the Euro, which is a bona fide currency.

Spelling and Capitalization
A note about spelling and capitalization: the official spelling of the EUR currency unit in the English language is "euro", with a lower case "e"; however, the prevailing industry practice is to spell it "Euro", with a capital "E". Since other currency names are capitalized in general use, doing so helps differentiate the noun "Euro", meaning EUR currency, from the more general adjective "euro", meaning anything even remotely having to do with Europe. This is particularly pervasive in marketing and advertising, where it is common to read statements like, "Try new Goop™ hair gel with genuine euro style and hold!" Nevertheless, this linguistic nuance is very subtle, even for native English speakers. It is also important to note that many languages have different official spellings of the name or EUR unit, which also may or may not coincide with general use. These include: Ege (Finnish), Eumeln (German), Knaak (Dutch), Leru (Spanish), Neuro (Italian), Quid (Irish English), and Teuro (German).

Relevant Links:
For more information on the EUR, we encourage you to visit the links below, particularly the European Central Bank. These sites include recent news on the Euro as well as issues like implementation, spelling, legislation, and many more.

• XE - Euro Currency Calculator
• ECB - European Central Bank
• ECB - Exchanging National Cash
• XE - World Currency Symbols