Eruo (EUR) Profile

1/100,Cent; symbol: c
1 €, 2 €, 10c, 20c, 50c
1c, 2c
5 €, 10 €, 20 €, 50 €, 100 €
200 €, 500 €
European Central Bank  (www.ecb.europa.eu)

1. Eurozone members (17 of the 27 member states of the European Union) - Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain.
2.Outside the European Union, official users: Monaco,San Marino, Vatican City, Akrotiri and Dhekelia (UK Sovereign Base Areas), Clipperton Island (France territory), French Southern and Antarctic Lands (France territory), Saint Pierre and Miquelon (self-governing territorial overseas collectivity of France), Saint Barthélemy (Overseas collectivity of France), Saint Martin (Overseas collectivity of France)
3.Unofficial Users: Andorra, Kosovo, Montenegro, Zimbabwe

1.Nicknames: Ege (Finnish), Leru (Spanish), Yoyo (Irish English), Teuro (German)
2.Plural of euro and cent: various from grammatical rules of the respective languages

What countries are using the euro currency?

The euro is the second largest reserve currency and the second most traded currency in the world.

The euro is the official currency of the eurozone, which consists of 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. These 17 members which adopted the euro are Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain.

The ten countries, which are EU countries but not using the euro as their official currencies, are Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.

Outside the EU, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican started to use the euro as their currency since 2002. They signed a formal agreement with the EU and acquired the right to mint euro coins with their own designs on the national side. Others, like Andorra, Kosovo, and Montenegro have adopted the euro unilaterally. Some overseas territories of EU members like Mayotte, Clipperton Island, French Southern and Antarctic Lands, Saint Pierre and Miquelon use the euro while they themselves are not part of the EU. On the other hand, UK Sovereign Base areas (Akrotiri and Dhekelia) are the only areas under EU member of British sovereignty but use the euro.

When did the euro currency started to be used?

The euro was established in 1999. The ERM (Exchange Rate Mechanism) was a monetary system established in 1979, which was first participated in by eight countries: Germany, France, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, and Ireland. The purpose of ERM was to reduce exchange rate variability and achieve monetary stability among

Preceding currencies of the 17 Eurozone members
17 Euro-zone members Preceding currencies  currency code fixed rate with Euro Year of Euro became as official currency Year of Euro fully adopted
Austria Austrian schilling ATS 1 EUR = 13.7603 ATS Jan,1999 Feb,2002
Belgium Belgian franc BEF 1 EUR = 40.3399 BEF Jan,1999 Feb,2002
Cyprus Cypriot pound CYP 1 EUR = 0.585274 CYP Jan,2008 Jan,2008
Estonia Estonian kroon EEK 1 EUR = 15.6466 EEK Jan,2011 Jan,2011
Finland Finnish markka FIM 1 EUR = 5.94573 FIM Jan,1999 Feb,2002
France French franc FRF 1 EUR = 6.55957 FRF Jan,1999 Feb,2002
Germany Deutsche Mark DEM 1 EUR = 1.95583 DEM Jan,1999 Feb,2002
Greece Greek drachma GRD  1 EUR = 340.750 GRD Jan,2001 Feb,2002
Ireland Irish pound IEP 1 EUR = 0.787564 IEP Jan,1999 Feb,2002
Italy Italian lira ITL 1 EUR = 1936.27 ITL Jan,1999 Feb,2002
Luxembourg Luxembourgish franc LUF 1 EUR = 40.3399 LUF Jan,1999 Feb,2002
Malta Maltese lira MTL 1 EUR = 0.429300 MTL Jan,2008 Jan,2008
Netherlands Dutch guilder NLG 1 EUR = 2.20371 NLG Jan,1999 Jan,2002
Portugal Portuguese escudo PTE 1 EUR = 200.482 PTE Jan,1999 Feb,2002
Slovenia Slovenian tolar SIT 1 EUR = 239.640 SIT Jan,2006 Jan,2007
Slovakia Slovak koruna SKK 1 EUR = 30.1260 SKK Jan,2007 Feb,2009
Spain Spanish peseta ESP 1 EUR = 166.386 ESP Jan,1999 Feb,2002

Euro coins and banknotes

All Euro Coins have a common side (face side) showing the Latin alphabet version of euro, the value written by Arabic numerals, and a map of the EU. The national side (backside) shows the image specifically chosen by the issuing country’s bank. Euro Coins from any member state may be freely used in eurozone countries.

Euro banknotes have common designs on both sides. The front features windows or gateways while the back features bridges. Seven banknotes are issued in €500, €200, €100, €50, €20, €10, €5 whose sizes are different according to Euro Banknotes denomination. The €5 euro banknote is the smallest size and the €500 banknote is the biggest size. Each banknote has its own color, which dedicates to an artistic period of European architecture.

Euro and the European Union (EU)

The euro is the currency of the eurozone and used by the seven Institutions of the European Union (EU). The eurozone, officially called the euro area, is an economic and monetary union (EMU) of 17 European Union (EU) member states that have adopted the euro as their official currency. It was established in 1999. The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union. It traces back to 1951, the creation of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the following treaties of the European Economic Community (EEC) established in 1958. The European Union (EU) has been expanded from the six founding members of Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands to 27 member states by 2007.

27 EU members Joined EU since currency name currency code Acceded to Eurozone since when
or the on-going status
old currency name old currency code
Belgium 1958 Euro EUR January 1, 1999 Belgian franc BEF
France 1958 Euro EUR January 1, 1999 French franc FRF
Germany 1958 Euro EUR January 1, 1999 Deutsche Mark DEM
Italy 1958 Euro EUR January 1, 1999 Italian lira ITL
Luxembourg 1958 Euro EUR January 1, 1999 Luxembourgish franc LUF
Netherlands 1958 Euro EUR January 1, 1999 Dutch guilder NLG
Denmark 1973 Danish krone DKK
EU state with an opt-out on Eurozone participation. The Danish krone is part of the ERM-II mechanism.
/ /
United Kingdom 1973 British pound GBP EU state with an opt-out on Eurozone participation. British pound was forced to exit ERM in 1992. / /
Ireland 1973 Euro EUR January 1, 1999 Irish pound IEP
Greece 1981 Euro EUR January 1, 2001 Greek drachma GRD 
Portugal 1986 Euro EUR January 1, 1999 Portuguese escudo PTE
Spain 1986 Euro EUR January 1, 1999 Spanish peseta ESP
Austria 1995 Euro EUR January 1, 1999 Austrian schilling ATS
Finland 1995 Euro EUR January 1, 1999 Finnish markka FIM
Sweden 1995 Swedish krona SEK EU state with a "de-facto" opt-out on Eurozone participation. Sweden has chosen to stay out of the ERM II mechanism. / /
Cyprus 2004 Euro EUR January 1, 2008 Cypriot pound CYP
Estonia 2004 Euro EUR January 1, 2011 Estonian kroon EEK
Malta 2004 Euro EUR January 1, 2008 Maltese lira MTL
Slovakia 2004 Euro EUR January 1, 2006 Slovak koruna SKK
Slovenia 2004 Euro EUR January 1, 2007 Slovenian tolar SIT
Czech Republic 2004 Czech koruna CZK EU state obliged to join the Eurozone. / /
Hungary 2004 Hungarian forint HUF EU state obliged to join the Eurozone. / /
Latvia 2004 Latvian lats LVL EU state obliged to join the Eurozone. Latvian lats is part of the ERM-II mechanism. / /
Lithuania 2004 Lithuanian litas LTL ERM-II, EU state obliged to join the Eurozone. Lithuanian litas is part of the ERM II mechanism. / /
Poland 2004 Polish złoty PLN EU state obliged to join the Eurozone. / /
Bulgaria 2007 Bulgarian lev BGN EU state obliged to join the Eurozone. / /
Romania 2007 Romanian leu RON EU state obliged to join the Eurozone. / /

Euro and the currencies pegged to the euro

The euro is seen as a stable currency. Currently, there are several currencies pegged to the euro, some are at par while some with fluctuation bands around a central rate. The three countries, Denmark, Latvia, Lithuania, are the member states of the EU. So their currencies of Danish krone (code: DKK), Latvian lats (code: LVL), Lithuanian litas (code: LTL) are part of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM)-II and could have a fluctuation band of ±15%, however with a de facto tighter fluctuation band, such as 0.5% or 1%.

Currencies pegged to the Euro
currency name currency code currency users Pegged at

Pegged since

Fluctuation band Formerly pegged to Notes
Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark BAM Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 EUR = 1.95583 BAM 1-Jan-1999 0.00% Germany Mark (DEM) from 1995  
Bulgarian lev BGN Bulgaria 1 EUR = 1.95583 BGN 1-Jan-1999 0.00% Germany Mark (DEM) from 1997  
Comorian franc KMF Comoros 1 EUR =491.96755 KMF 1-Jan-1999 0.00% French franc (FRF) from 1979  
Danish krone DKK Denmark 1 EUR = 7.46038 DKK 1-Jan-1999 2.25% (de facto 0.5%) European Currency Unit (XEU, 1 XEU=1 EUR) The Danish krone is part of the ERM-II mechanism.
Cape Verdean escudo CVE Cape Verde 1 EUR =110.265 CVE 1-Jan-1999 0.00% Portuguese escudo (PTE) from 1998  
Latvian lats LVL Latvia 1 EUR = 0.70280 LVL 1-Jan-2005 15.0% (de facto 1%)   The Latvian lats is part of the ERM-II mechanism.
Lithuanian litas LTL Lithuania 1 EUR = 3.45280 LTL 2-Feb-2002 15.0% (de facto 1%) United States dollar (USD) from 1994 The Lithuanian litas is part of the ERM-II mechanism.
São Tomé and Príncipe dobra STD São Tomé and Príncipe 1 EUR = 24500 STD 1-Jan-2010 0.00%    
West African CFA franc XOF XOF currency union: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d'lvoire (Ivory Coast), Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, Senegal, Togo 1 EUR = 655.9570 XOF 1-Jan-1999 0.00% French franc (FRF) from 1948  
Central African CFA franc XAF XAF currency union: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon 1 EUR = 655.9570 XAF 1-Jan-1999 0.00% French franc (FRF) from 1948  
CFP franc XPF XPF currency union: French overseas collectivities of French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Wallis and Futuna 1 EUR = 0.00838 XPF 1-Jan-1999 0.00% French franc (FRF) from 1949