Presentation of Euro

     The European currencies will have to bind themselves in the ECU which represents the " European monetary stability " and not take down its rates (+/-2.25 %). These measures aim at avoiding that a country sees its currency losing of its value compared with the others, and so destabilizes the European, interdependent space economically.

In front of the failure of the control of parities, idea of a common currency totally terminating these monetary instabilities strengthens. The implementation of the euro results from a will to create definitively a stable monetary area in Europe to favor the state economies. This is the way in 1999, the euro is created.

The ECB : When the euro was thrown, the responsibility of the monetary policy was confided to the European Central Bank independent ECB-EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK, which was created to this end, and to the national central banks of the Member states who adopted the euro. Together, these institutions compose the Eurosystem.

         The Euro is the currency of the 375 million people who live in 19 countries of the Eurozone. It is also used - either officially as official rate, or for practical reasons - by a whole series of the other countries, as close neighbors and the former colonies.

It is not thus surprising that the euro quickly became the second international currency after the dollar and even exceeded it in some respects (e.g. the value of liquid assets in circulation).

          The euro is managed by the European Central Bank ECB which sits in Frankfurt and by Euroystème compound of central banks of the states of the Eurozone. As independent central bank, the ECB is the unique authority having the power to fix a monetary policy for the whole Eurozone. Euroystème participates in the impression, the strike and the distribution of billets and coins in all the Member states. It also watches the smooth running of the systems of payments within the Eurozone.

Utility : Besides the fact that it facilitates largely the journeys, a single currency presents a considerable economic and political interest. The frame in which the euro is managed in fact a stable currency, with not much inflation and weak interest rates, and incites to guard healthy public finances. The single currency is also the logical complement to the single market, which confers him a bigger efficiency. The recourse to a single currency strengthens the transparency of the prices, eliminates the expenses of exchange, puts some oil in the cogs of the European economy, facilitates the international exchanges and allows the EU to make his/her voice heard better in the world. The size and the strength of the Eurozone also insure him a better protection against the external economic shocks, such as the unexpected increases of the oil prices or the disturbances of financial markets.

Finally, the euro brings to the citizens of the EU a tangible symbol of their European identity, of which they can feel all the more proud as the Eurozone spreads and multiplies these advantages for his existing and future members.

Extension of the Eurozone?

The membership in the euro is compulsory for the new members of the European Union, but every country in basic salary the date and has to respect the necessary economic conditions.

The Eurozone gradually widened :

• Since January 1st, 2001, in Greece
• Since January 1st, 2007, in Slovenia
• Since January 1st, 2008, in Cyprus and in Malta
• Since January 1st, 2009, in Slovakia
• Since January 1st, 2011, in Estonia
• Since January 1st, 2014, in Latvia
• Since January 1st, 2015, in Lithuania
• Since January 1st, 2023, in Croatia

User countries of the euro
On January 1st, 2015, 19 countries of the European Union use the euro as national currency. Thus in these are added four States except EU having agreements official and using the euro in a official way as well as two other States having adopted him one-sidedly. The case of the British bases in Cyprus is particular: the treaty of independence of Cyprus planned a shift towards the Euro there; this peculiarity is planned by the Treaty of membership of Cyprus and by the right British.

Spelling and grammar?

Because of different alphabets names and national divisions of the euro are not spelt and do not pronounce in the same way in all the countries of the zone.

Because of the diversity of the grammatical rules within the Eurozone, the "euro" word on rooms and tickets is invariable and does not set of "S". However, in the French language, while he does not pronounce; by customs and uses to the paper, a "s" is generally added to the plural. The Académie française pronounced in this sense in a note published to the Gazette of December 2nd, 1997.

On the other hand, in France, the term "one hundred", being confusing, is not generally used in French; we speak about centime or, in a rarer and disadvised form, of one eurohundred (not to confuse with the centimes of franc during the passing phase). For similar reasons, it is said centimo in Spanish, centesimo in Italian, lepton (plural lepta) in Greek, while does not cause this problem in English, for example, language in which it is adopted as it is.

La liaison avec l'adjectif antéposé et le nom euro suit la règle habituelle du français, on prononce donc un(n)euro, dix(z)Euro, vingt(t)Euro, quatre-vingts(z)Euro, cent(t)Euro, etc.

As regards Eurocol, EURO is invariable.

          Besides nineteen member countries of the UEM, four micro-states use the euro as official currency legally without being members of the European Union. The previous agreements allowing these micro-states to use their currency in parallel of that of their respective neighbor were seen renewed.

• San Marino and Vatican, which had agreements with Italy to have their own coins (to read it vaticane and lira of San Marino), used until then the Italian lira.
• Monaco had agreements with France to use the French franc in parallel of the frank person from Monaco.
• The principality of Andorra, which used the French franc and the Spanish peseta at the time of the euroization, found itself de facto in the Eurozone. Initially, Andorra did not have the right to strike its euro coins with its own national face, but following a negotiation with the ECB( EUROPEAN CENTRAL BANK) and the European Commission, an agreement intervened on June 30th, 2011, which already allowed him to strike commemorative coins (without official rate). Since July 1st, 2013, Andorra can emit(utter) its own coins, which begin to circulate on January 15th, 2015.

This situation allows them to have their own national faces on the coins which they emit in euro.

I shall add that these four micro States do not participate in strikings of coins "in common broadcast", because "not members".

Without formal agreement, Montenegro and Kosovo use the euro but its use is not governed by a monetary agreement