[[Image:Euro banknotes.png|right|thumb|Euro banknotes|300px]]The '''euro ''' (symbol €) is an abbreviation for the 28-member [[European Union]] and is also the common [[currency]] in continental Europe todayits Eurozone (a [[population]] of more than 320 million). Five other states with formal agreements also use the euro currency, and four other nations have it without formal agreement. Use of the euro began in January 2002, and 12 nations switched their currency immediately to the euro. It is There was more than €610 billion in circulation in December 2006 (worth US$802 billion at the counterpart to time), hence the dollar euro had the highest value of [[cash]] in circulation in the United Statesworld, then having surpassed the [[Dollar (U.S.)|U.S. dollar]].<ref>{{cite web| last = Atkins| first = Ralph| title = Euro notes cash in to overtake dollar| publisher = Financial Times|date=2006-12-27| url = http://www.ft.com/cms/s/18338034-95ec-11db-9976-0000779e2340.html| accessdate = 2007-05-04}}</ref>
==Creation==In the United Kingdom the currency is still January 1999 the [[poundexchange rate]], but there is pressure to convert s of countries that had passed the criteria (and were not exercising an opt-out) were fixed to the euro that is used throughout continental Europe. Conservatives in England The [[European Central Bank]] ([[ToriesECB]])resist converting to the European currency because it represents a loss in sovereignty came into being. Euro coins and control notes were introduced to rely the general public on someone else's currencythe 1st of January 2002 as [[legal tender]], alongside national [[currencies]]. In particularMarch 1998, there is fear of England becoming dependent on when the fiscal policies of calculations in countries that had met the larger combination of convergence criteria were finalized, eleven countries were admitted to join the [[European Monetary Union]]: [[Austria]], [[Belgium]], [[Finland]], [[France]], [[Germany]], [[Ireland]], [[Italy]], [[Luxembourg]], [[Netherlands]], [[Portugal]] and France[[Spain]]. In June 2000 [[Greece]] was admitted. [[Slovenia]] joined in 2007, and [[Malta]] and [[Cyprus]] joined in 2008. Since 2011 the Euro is the currency of [[Estonia]]. On January 1, 2014 the Euro was imported in [[Latvia]]. In 2015 [[Lithuania]] joined the Euro zone.
But by ==Criteria for adoption==Countries within the European Union were able to join the Common Currency if they met four criteria (known as the 'convergence criteria'). These were:<br />1. The [[budget deficit]] must be below 3% of [[GDP]] (the difference between [[taxes|government receipts]] and expenditures.)<br />2. The total [[national debt|government debt]] must be below 60% of GDP.<br />3. The country must have an [[inflation]] rate within 1.5% of the lowest 3 inflation rates of EU countries.<br />4. Nominal Long-term [[interest]] rates must be within 2% of the [[interest rate]] of countries with the lowest 3 [[inflation rate]]s.<ref name="ec.europa.eu">http://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/euro/adoption/who_can_join/index_en.htm</ref><br /> In addition to these criteria a member state's currency must fluctuate within the margins allowed. Countries were allowed to join the common currency if their budget deficit and total [[government debt]] were approaching the reference values at a 'satisfactory pace', but not actually on them. ==Non-participant members==In the [[United Kingdom]] the currency is still the [[pound]], but before the Eurozone crisis there was pressure to convert to the Euro that is used throughout Europe. The [[UK]] and [[Denmark]] are the only European Union member states with an 'opt-out' (allowing them to select not to join the common currency despite meeting the criteria). In addition to the four criteria of entry set out in the [[Maastricht Treaty]] the Chancellor of the Exchequer laid out 5 economic tests the United Kingdom must meet to join; at the last report it had met one, with three others dependent on the final condition which had not been met. Many [[conservative]]s in the UK ([[Tories]]) resist conversion to the European currency because a reliance on a common currency represents a loss in [[sovereignty]] and control. In particular, there is fear that joining the synchronized EU policy may result in sub-optimal interest rates in difficult periods.<ref name="ec.europa.eu"/> ==Value==[[Image:626px-Euro coins version II.png|right|thumb|300px|Euro coins]]Initially the value of the euro fell on the exchange markets, while many expected it to do the opposite. However it has strengthened in the years since, partly due to the falling value of the dollar. The ECB is charged with maintaining the inflation rate in the Eurozone between 0 and 2%. By the end of 2006, after about five years of the euro, a French magazine Le Pèlerin reported that 52% of the [[French ]] feel that the euro is a "bad thing". French workers now blame the euro , blaming it for price hikes and [[job lossesloss]]es. 71% of French [[blue-collar workers]] say the said that euro has hurt them personally. <ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/main.jhtml?xml=/money/2006/12/28/cneuro28.xml French hostility to euro begins to gather pace], The Telegraph, 12-27-06December 2006</ref> As of July 2021, the euro is worth approximately [[US]]$1.19 and GB£0.85.<ref>http://www.xe.com/</ref> == See also ==*[[Eurozone Crisis]] ==References=={{reflist}} [[Category:Currency]][[Category:Europe]][[Category:Investments]][[Category:Economics]][[Category:Coins]]
