Euro

The euro (Siller sign: €; baunkin code: EUR) is the offeecial siller o the European Union's Eurozone that at the meenit conseests o 17 states (Austrick, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Fraunce, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Maltae, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakie, Slovenie, Spain). It is the ae siller for mair nor 320 million Europeans. Includin airts uisin sillers pegged tae the euro, the euro directly affects close tae 500 million fowk warldwide. Wi mair nor €610 billion in circulation as o December 2006 (equeevalent tae US$802 billion at the exchynge rates at the time), the euro is the siller wi the hiechest combined vailie o cash in circulation in the warld, haein surpassed the U.S. dollar.

The euro wis introduced tae warld financial mercats as an accoontin siller in 1999 an lenched as pheesical cunyies an baunknotes on 1 Januar 2002. It replaced the umwhile European Currency Unit (ECU) at a ratio o 1:1.

Chairactereestics

Cunyies an baunknotes

The ECB is in chairge o the Eurozone's policy on siller

Main airticle: euro coins

The euro is dividit intae 100 cents (whiles cried eurocent, especially whan sinderin it frae the U.S. cent or the umwhile currency in a parteecular kintra). Aw circulatin euro cunyies (includin the €2 commemorative cunyies) haes a common side shawin the denomination (vailie) wi the auld 17 EU-kintras in the backgrund. Frae 2007 or 2008 on (lippenin on the kintra whaur the cunyie is issued) that "auld" map is replaced bi a map o Europe, that nou shows nane-EU-members sic as Norrowey. The cunyies haes a naitional side shawin an eemage speceefically waled bi the kintra that issued the cunyie. Euro cunyies frae ony kintra can be freely uised in ony naition that haes adoptit the euro.

The euro cunyies are €2, €1, €0.50, €0.20, €0.10, €0.05, €0.02, an €0.01. In the Netherlands cash transactions is roondit tae the nearest five cents, tae avoid the uise o €0.02, an €0.01, an in Finland, the twa smawest denominations isna ony langer struck, tho they remain legal tender there. (See Linguistic issues concernin the euro an aw.)

Commemorative cunyies wi €2 face value hae been issued wi chynges tae the design o the naitional side o the cunyie — as Greece did for the 2004 Summer Olympics. These twa-euro cunyies is legal tender throughoot the Eurozone. Cunyies wi various ither denominations hae been issued an aw, but these are no intendit for general circulation. These later cunyies are only legal tender in the naition that issued them.

Aw euro banknotes hae a common design for each denomination on both sides. Notes are issued in €500, €200, €100, €50, €20, €10, €5. The design for each o them haes a common theme o European airchitecture in various airtistic periods. The front (or recto) o the note features windaes or gateways while the back (or verso) haes brigs. Care haes been taen so that the airchitectural examples dinna represent ony actual existin monument, so as no tae induce jealousy an controversy in the choice o whilk monument should be depictit. Some o the hiechest denominations sic as the €500 are no issued in a few kintras, tho they remain legal tender athort the Eurozone.

Eurozone

Main airticle: Eurozone

██ Eurozone

██ ERM II members

██ unilaterally adoptit

██ ither EU members

██ special adoption greement

• The euro is the ae siller in Austrick, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, Fraunce, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Maltae, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakie, Slovenie an Spain. These 17 kintras thegether is frequently referrit tae as the Eurozone or the euro airt, or mair informally "euroland" or the "eurogroup". Ootside o the airt covered bi the map, the euro is the legal siller o the French owerseas possessions o French Guiana, Réunion, Saint-Pierre et Miquelon, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Saint-Barthélemy, Saint Martin, Mayotte, an the uninhabited Clipperton Island an the French Southern an Antarctic Lands; the Portuguese autonomous regions o the Azores an Madeira; an the Spainyie Canary Islands.

• Acause o some bilateral greements, the European microstates o Monaco, San Marino, an Vatican Ceity mint their ain euro cunyies on behalf o the European Central Baunk. They is, houaniver, severely limitit in the total vailie o cunyies they can issue.

• Andorrae, Montenegro, Kosovo, an Akrotiri an Dhekelia adoptit the foreign euro as their legal Siller for movement o capital an payments withoot parteecipation in the ESCB or the richt tae mint cunyies. Andorrae is in the process o enterin a monetary greement similar tae that o the microstates abuin.

• Several possessions an umwhile colonies o EU kintras hae sillers pegged tae the euro. These are French Polynesie, New Caledon, Wallis and Futuna (the CFP franc); Cape Verde; the Comoros; an fowerteen naitions o Central an Wast Africae (the CFA franc). See Sillers relatit tae the euro.

• Awtho no legal tender in Denmark an the Unitit Kinrick, the euro is acceptit in some shops athort baith kintras, parteecularly internaitional shopss in lairge ceeties, an shops in Northren Ireland near the laundmairch wi the Republic o Ireland, whaur the euro is the offeecial siller. Seemilarly, the euro is widely acceptit in Swisserland, e'en bi offeecial boards, sic as the Swiss Railweys.

References

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