Editing Euro (section)

{{Short description|Currency of the European Union}}
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{{about|the currency}}
{{redirect|EUR}}
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{{Good article}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{Infobox currency
| name = Euro
| local_name = <small>{{nobold|1=see also [[Language and the euro|''euro'' in various languages]]}}</small>
| image_1        = Euro banknotes Europa series.png
| image_width_1  = 175px
| image_title_1  = [[Euro banknotes]]
| iso_code       = EUR
| subunit_name_1 = [[1 euro cent coin|euro cent]]
| unit   = euro 
| plural = Varies, see [[language and the euro]]
| symbol = [[Euro sign|€]]
| symbol_subunit_1 = c
| nickname = The single currency{{efn|1=Official documents and legislation refer to the euro as "the single currency".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:31997R1103:EN:HTML |title=Council Regulation (EC) No 1103/97 of 17 June 1997 on certain provisions relating to the introduction of the euro |access-date=1 April 2009 |date=19 June 1997 |work=Official Journal L 162, 19&nbsp;June 1997 P. 0001&nbsp;– 0003 |publisher=European Communities}}</ref>}}
| frequently_used_banknotes = [[5 euro note|€5]], [[10 euro note|€10]], [[20 euro note|€20]], [[50 euro note|€50]], [[100 euro note|€100]]<ref name="Circulation_report">{{cite web |url=http://sdw.ecb.europa.eu/reports.do?node=1000004111 |title=ECB Statistical Data Warehouse, Reports>ECB/Eurosystem policy>Banknotes and coins statistics>1.Euro banknotes>1.1 Quantities |publisher=European Central Bank}}</ref>
| rarely_used_banknotes = [[200 euro note|€200]], [[500 euro note|€500]]<ref name="Circulation_report"/>
| frequently_used_coins = [[1 euro cent coin|1c]], [[2 euro cent coin|2c]], [[5 euro cent coin|5c]], [[10 euro cent coin|10c]], [[20 euro cent coin|20c]], [[50 euro cent coin|50c]], [[1 euro coin|€1]], [[2 euro coin|€2]]
| rarely_used_coins = [[1 euro cent coin|1c]], [[2 euro cent coin|2c]] (Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, Slovakia<ref>{{cite web|first1=Alistair|last1=Walsh|access-date=2019-11-04|title=Italy to stop producing 1- and 2-cent coins |url=https://www.dw.com/en/italy-to-stop-producing-1-and-2-cent-coins/a-39020206|date=29 May 2017|publisher=[[Deutsche Welle]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|first1=|last1=|access-date=17 December 2023|title=Po 1. júli 2022 budú končiť na Slovensku jedno a dvojcentové mince |trans-title=One and two cent coins will end in Slovakia after 1 July  2022 |url=https://www.bystricoviny.sk/spravy/po-1-juli-2022-budu-koncit-na-slovensku-jedno-a-dvojcentove-mince/|date=29 May 2017|website=bystricoviny.sk|language=sk}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Euro kasutusele võtmise ja eurodes tehtavate sularahamaksete arveldamise seadus–Riigi Teataja |trans-title=Act on the Introduction of the Euro and Settlement of Cash Payments in Euros–Riigi Teataja |url=https://www.riigiteataja.ee/akt/130052024016 |access-date=2024-12-29 |website=www.riigiteataja.ee |language=et}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Paverskite smulkias monetas istorijos dalimi: proginė moneta, skirta gynybai, laukia Jūsų! |url=https://www.lb.lt/lt/paverskite-smulkias-monetas-istorijos-dalimi-progine-moneta-skirta-gynybai-laukia-jusu |date=2025-04-11 |access-date=2025-05-01 |website=[[Bank of Lithuania]] |language=lt}}</ref>)
| subunit_ratio_1 = {{frac|100}}
| subunit_inline_note_1 = ([[Language and the euro|Name varies by language]])
| plural_subunit_1 = ([[Language and the euro|Varies by language]])
| banknote_article = euro banknotes
| coin_article = euro coins
| using_countries = primary: [[#Eurozone_members|§&nbsp;members of Eurozone]] (20),<br/>also: [[#Other users|§&nbsp;other users]]
| date_of_introduction = {{start date and age|1999|1|1|df=y}}
| replaced_currency = [[European Currency Unit]]
| issuing_authority = [[European Central Bank]]
| issuing_authority_website = {{URL|https://www.ecb.europa.eu}}
| printer = see {{section link|Euro|Banknote printing|nopage=y}}
| mint = [[List of euro mints|List of mints]]
| inflation_rate = 2.2% (April 2025)<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.ecb.europa.eu/stats/macroeconomic_and_sectoral/hicp/html/index.en.html | title=Inflation and consumer prices}}</ref>
| pegged_by = see [[#Currencies pegged to the euro|§&nbsp;Pegged currencies]]
| inflation_source_date = [https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/statistics-explained/index.php/Inflation_in_the_euro_area ec.europa.eu]
| inflation_method = [[Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices|HICP]]
}}

{{Politics of the European Union}}

The '''euro''' ([[currency symbol|symbol]]: '''[[euro sign|€]]'''; [[ISO 4217|currency code]]: '''EUR''') is the official [[currency]] of 20 of the {{EUnum}} [[Member state of the European Union|member states]] of the [[European Union]]. This group of states is officially known as the euro area or, more commonly, the [[eurozone]]. The euro is divided into 100 [[1 euro cent coin|euro cents]].<ref name="EC Euro Area">{{cite web |url=http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/euro/index_en.htm |title=The euro |access-date=2 January 2019 |work=[[European Commission]] website}}</ref><ref name="EC Euro1 euro cent coin Area 2">{{cite web |access-date=2019-01-02 |title=What is the euro area? |url=https://ec.europa.eu/info/business-economy-euro/euro-area/what-euro-area_en |website=European Commission website}}</ref>

The currency is also used officially by the [[institutions of the European Union]], by [[International status and usage of the euro|four European microstates]] that are not EU members,<ref name="EC Euro1 euro cent coin Area 2" /> the [[British Overseas Territory]] of [[Akrotiri and Dhekelia]], as well as unilaterally by [[Montenegro]] and [[Kosovo]]. Outside Europe, a number of [[special territories of EU members]] also use the euro as their currency.  

The euro is used by 350 million people in Europe and additionally, over 200&nbsp;million people worldwide use [[currencies pegged to the euro]].<ref name="population_jan_2023">{{cite web|url=https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/tps00001/default/table?lang=en |title = Population on 1 January|publisher=[[Eurostat]]}}</ref> It is the second-largest [[reserve currency]] as well as the second-most traded currency in the world after the [[United States dollar]].<ref>{{cite web|title=IMF Data – Currency Composition of Official Foreign Exchange Reserve – At a Glance|publisher=International Monetary Fund|url=http://data.imf.org/?sk=E6A5F467-C14B-4AA8-9F6D-5A09EC4E62A4|date=23 December 2022|access-date=11 January 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Foreign exchange turnover in April 2013: preliminary global results |url=http://www.bis.org/publ/rpfx13fx.pdf |publisher=Bank for International Settlements |access-date=7 February 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bis.org/publ/rpfxf07t.pdf |title=Triennial Central Bank Survey 2007 |publisher=BIS |date=19 December 2007 |access-date=25 July 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/14350/1/MPRA_paper_14350.pdf |last1=Aristovnik |first1=Aleksander |last2=Čeč |first2=Tanja |title=Compositional Analysis of Foreign Currency Reserves in the 1999–2007 Period. The Euro vs. The Dollar As Leading Reserve Currency|publisher=Munich Personal RePEc Archive, Paper No. 14350 |date=30 March 2010 |access-date=27 December 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Boesler |first=Matthew |title=There Are Only Two Real Threats to the US Dollar's Status As The International Reserve Currency |url=http://www.businessinsider.com/dollar-as-international-reserve-currency-2013-11 |access-date=8 December 2013 |newspaper=Business Insider |date=11 November 2013}}</ref> {{As of|2019|12|post=,}} with more than €1.3&nbsp;trillion in circulation, the euro has one of the highest combined values of banknotes and coins in circulation in the world.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://sdw.ecb.europa.eu/reports.do?node=1000004112 |title=1.2 Euro banknotes, values |access-date=23 January 2020 |publisher=European Central Bank Statistical Data Warehouse|date=14 January 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://sdw.ecb.europa.eu/reports.do?node=1000004114|title=2.2 Euro coins, values|access-date=23 January 2020 |publisher=European Central Bank Statistical Data Warehouse|date=14 January 2020}}</ref>

The name ''euro'' was officially adopted on 16 December 1995 in [[Madrid]].<ref name="madrid1995">{{cite web|url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/summits/mad1_en.htm |title=Madrid European Council (12/95): Conclusions |publisher=European Parliament |access-date=14 February 2009}}</ref> The euro was introduced to world financial markets as an [[unit of account|accounting currency]] on 1 January 1999, replacing the former [[European Currency Unit]] (ECU) at a ratio of 1:1 (US$1.1743 at the time). Physical euro coins and banknotes entered into circulation on 1 January 2002, making it the day-to-day operating currency of its original members, and by March 2002 it had completely replaced the former currencies.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.ecb.int/euro/changeover/2002/html/index.en.html| title = Initial changeover (2002)| publisher=European Central Bank| access-date =5 March 2011}}</ref>

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 13 July 2022, the two currencies hit parity for the first time in nearly two decades due in part to the [[Economic impact of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine|2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine]].<ref name="NYTimes-2022">{{Cite news |date=2022-07-12 |title=Euro Falls Near Parity With Dollar, a Threshold Watched Closely by Investors |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/12/business/euro-dollar-parity.html |access-date=2022-07-13 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Then, in September 2022, the US dollar again had a face value higher than the euro, at around US$0.95 per euro.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-09-23 |title=Euro fällt zum US-Dollar auf 20-Jahrestief |url=https://www.spiegel.de/wirtschaft/euro-faellt-zum-us-dollar-auf-20-jahrestief-a-327dab06-b9ed-40bf-9b48-502c9dde1607 |access-date=2024-07-10 |work=Der Spiegel |language=de |issn=2195-1349}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Euro (EUR) To US Dollar (USD) Exchange Rate History for 2022 |url=https://www.exchange-rates.org/exchange-rate-history/eur-usd-2022 |access-date=2024-07-10 |website=www.exchange-rates.org |language=en}}</ref>