the euro

On 1 January 1999, 00.00 a.m., the euro became the official currency of 11 Member States of the European Union with a fixed conversion rate against their national currencies. From now on, the value of the euro against the dollar and all other currencies, including those of the four Member States staying out of the euro zone, will fluctuate according to market conditions.

Although Euro notes and coins will not appear until 1 January 2002, the new currency can be used by consumers, retailers, companies of all kinds and public administrations from 1 January 1999 in the form of "written money" - that is, by means of cheques, travellers' cheques, bank transfers, credit cards and electronic purses.

On the left you can see the value of 1 euro  for the national currencies of the Euro states, and request the current exchange rates for the euro against a whole range of currencies.

If you need to know more, you can do no better than visit the excellent European Union Euro Pages.  This site carries full euro information, and even a nifty euro calculator.

If you are running Windows 95, Microsoft have provided an update patch that will enable the Euro symbol to be displayed on your computer.  Go to the Microsoft Euro Download Page where you can download the patch and find full information.

Some items on this page © European Communities, 1995-1999 and reproduced with their kind permission.