The euro in Europe
Several countries have the euro as their currency. This makes it special because most currencies are used only in one country.
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CloseA total of 19 countries in the European Union use the euro: Austria, France, Italy, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Finland, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Slovenia, Cyprus, Malta, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. These countries are known as the monetary union or the euro zone. Each of these countries used to have its own currency, like the German mark and French franc. The euro has been their common currency since 1999. Today, the euro is one of the most important currencies in the world.
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Each country in the euro zone has a central bank that prints the banknotes. The European Central Bank in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, must grant approval for this. The European Central Bank is the common bank of Europe and is responsible for the euro.
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Since the countries in the euro zone are very close to each other, there are a number of advantages to them all having the euro as their currency. For example, you no longer have to change your money into a different currency when traveling to another country.
