What is euro?

The euro, often signified by €EUR, is the currency used in 12 members of the European Union, as well as regions such as Montenegro, Kosovo, Andorra and more. The purpose of the euro is to provide a common currency throughout Europe. That is all that it does. There is no need for fiscal integration or any other sort of oversight or control.

The European Union (EU) is a politico-economic union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe. The eurozone, officially called the euro area, is a monetary union of 19 European Union (EU) member states that have adopted the euro (€) as their common currency and sole legal tender.

The euro is the result of the most significant monetary reform in Europe since the Roman Empire. While creation of this currency is most obviously a channel through which Europe may perfect a single market (by facilitating free trade between members of the Eurozone), the euro is just as importantly a means through which Europe may achieve political integration.

Although the euro was only formally put into circulation on January 1, 2002, the idea of creating “an ever closer union among the peoples of Europe” has been around for decades-as stated in the Treaty of Rome in 1957. The euro area member states have a single currency, a common interest rate, and a common central bank (European System of Central Banks.) It is the largest monetary replacement the world has ever seen.

The euro is administered by the European System of Central Banks (ESCB), which is comprised of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Eurozone central banks. Headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, the ECB has the sole authority to set monetary policy; other members of the ESCB participate through printing, minting, and distributing notes and coins.