2016-01-04 Mon

The Euro which is the official currency of the “Eurozone”, which consists of 19 member states of the European Union came into effect and was traded for the first time on 4th January 1999.

The Eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain. The currency is also officially used by the institutions of the European Union and four other European countries. Outside of Europe, a number of overseas territories of EU members also use the euro as their currency.

The name euro was officially adopted on 16 December 1995. The euro was introduced to world financial markets as an accounting currency on 1 January 1999, replacing the former European Currency Unit (ECU). Physical euro coins and banknotes entered into circulation on 1 January 2002, making it the day-to-day operating currency of its original members.

Today Euro is the second most valuable reserve currency after the US Dollar.