Euro

Euro is the currency (money) of the countries in the eurozone. One euro is divided into 100 cent (officially) (singular) or "cents" (unofficially).

Because of the number of different languages in the European Union, there are different, unofficial, names for this unit (the French call them "centimes" and the Spanish "céntimos", for example).

It was created in 1999, but until 1 January 2002 it was used only for electronic payments. In 2002, 12 countries of the European Union (EU) took their state currencies out of circulation and adopted euro notes and coins as their only money. There was a change-over period, called the "transition period", when both the old national money and the euro were accepted, but by 28 February 2002, all 12 countries were using just euros.

In 2006, Slovenia became the 13th country to use the euro. In 2008 Cyprus and Malta became the 14th and 15th countries to use the euro. In 2009, Slovakia became the 16th country to use the euro. In 2011, Estonia became the 17th country to use the euro. In 2014, Latvia became the 18th country and in 2015, Lithuania became the 19th country to use the euro.

There are seven different banknotes, each one with a different colour, size and face value: €5 (grey), €10 (red), €20 (blue), €50 (orange), €100 (green), €200 (yellow), €500 (purple).

Coins are of eight different amounts: €0.01, €0.02, €0.05, €0.1, €0.2, €0.5, €1, €2.

On every banknote, there is a picture of a different European building style. All banknotes are the same throughout the entire eurozone; there are no different designs for different countries, unlike the euro coins. One side of each coin is the same in all euro countries. The other side is different since each country who mints the coins inserts a symbol relating to that country. Today there are many different sets of coins. Any of the coins can be used everywhere throughout the eurozone despite the country-specific symbol on the back.

The ten new European countries that entered the European Union in May 2004 are planning to adopt the Euro also. First they must meet some conditions to show that they have stable economies.

Symbol 

The symbol for the euro is the Greek letter epsilon (E) with two horizontal lines: €.

Some people see it as the Latin capital letter C with an equal sign (=).

It is also legal to simply write euro. This is especially useful when the symbol cannot be produced, or the result is not satisfactory.

Members of the eurozone are:
 Austria
 Belgium
 Cyprus
 Estonia
 Finland
 France
 Germany
 Greece
 Ireland
 Italy
 Latvia
 Lithuania
 Luxembourg
 Malta
 The Netherlands
 Portugal
 Slovakia
 Slovenia
 Spain
These countries form the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU).

Even though they are not part of the EU, the euro is also the currency used in:
 Andorra 1)
 Monaco 1)
 San Marino 1)
 Vatican City 1)
 Kosovo 2)
 Montenegro 2)
 1) this countries print own mints
 2) this countries use the euro unofficial

Many other countries' currencies are "pegged" (tied) to, although not exactly equal to, the euro:
 Cape Verdean escudo
 Comoros franc
 Central African CFA franc
 West African CFA franc
 France's Pacific territories CFP Franc
 Bosnia-Herzegovinan convertible mark
 Bulgarian lev
 Hungary forint
 Denmark krone

Other websites 
 Euro Coins and Notes
 The EURO banknotes - pictures and history

References

Currency of Europe
European Union