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After tough negotiations, the Maastricht Treaty entered into force in 1993 with the goal of creating an economic and monetary union (EMU) by 1999 for all EU states except the UK and Denmark (even though Denmark has a fixed exchange rate policy with the euro).
After a decade of preparations, the euro was launched on 1 January 1999: for the first three years it was an ‘invisible’ currency, only used for accounting purposes and electronic payments. Coins and banknotes were launched on 1 January 2002, and in 12 EU countries the biggest cash changeover in history took place.
10 paź 2024 · The euro replaced the national currencies of participating EU states and some non-EU states. When was the euro created? The euro arose from the 1991 Maastricht Treaty , in which the 12 original member countries of the European Community (now the European Union ) created an economic and monetary union and a corresponding common unit of exchange.
The euro was launched on 1 January 1999, when it became the currency of more than 300 million people in Europe. For the first three years it was an invisible currency, only used for accounting purposes, e.g. in electronic payments.
Between December 1999 and December 2002, the euro traded below the US dollar, but has since traded near parity with or above the US dollar, peaking at US$1.60 on 18 July 2008 and since then returning near to its original issue rate.
On 1 January 1999, eleven European countries took a historical step forwards by entering Stage Three of Economic and Monetary Union. Thereby, the national currencies of these eleven countries became denominations of a single currency.
The launch of the euro on 1 January 1999 and the introduction of euro banknotes and coins in 2002 marked the culmination of a long journey that had begun decades before, driven by a simple and compelling logic: it is easier to trade in a common market if you use a common currency.
