20 Years with Euro

On January 1, 1999, eleven (11) countries of the European Union (EU) fixed their exchange rates, adopted a shared monetary policy under the European Central Bank (ECB), and launched a new common currency: the euro. It was initially an electronic currency used by financial markets and for cashless payments.

   Three (3) years later, on January 1, 2002, euro banknotes and coins entered circulation. Today, the euro is the currency of 19 EU countries and over 340 million Europeans. It is one of the most important currencies in the world, alongside with other traditional currencies such as US dollar. When the name Euro of the single currency was chosen in 1995, the following names were considered too: Florin, Ducat, Franken.

   As our currency, the euro has become an integral part of everyday life and it makes it easier for us to trade, travel, study, live and work abroad. At the European Central Bank, they look after the euro to provide a stable environment for people living in countries using the euro currency, including families, workers, employers, entrepreneurs, pensioners, savers, and debtors.

   "The Single Market is often seen simply as an expression of the globalization process, which over time has even eliminated exchange rate flexibility. But the Single Market and globalization are not the same thing.", said Mario Draghi, President of the European Central Bank, at Laurea Honoris Causa in Economics by University of Sant 'Anna, Pisa, on December 15, 2018.

   "The Single Market was designed to reap the benefits of openness while also tempering its costs for the most vulnerable; to promote growth while protecting the people of Europe from the injustices of untrammeled free markets. This was undoubtedly also the vision of Jacques Delors, the architect of the Single Market.", he added.