1999

The euro makes its debut on world financial markets and is swiftly adopted as the official currency of the vast majority of member states of the European Union. Intended to facilitate the free movement of EU citizens, goods, services and capital, the single currency enhances price transparency and enables easy comparison across borders to encourage competition. Its symbol (€) is designed using the Greek letter epsilon to symbolically reference the first letter of the word ‘Europe’, while the two horizontal stripes represent the stability of the currency.