# Canonical recap data for Euro Currency Introduced (1999)
# Source: https://recap.at/1999/euro-currency-launch
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: euro-currency-launch
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1999/euro-currency-launch"
title: Euro Currency Introduced
subtitle: The European Union adopted the euro as its common currency in electronic transactions, cementing economic integration and reshaping monetary policy across member states.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1999-01-01
datePrecision: day
year: 1999
decade: 1990
country:
name: European Union
slug: european-union
summaryShort: The euro is the official currency of 21 of the 27 member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the euro area, more commonly named the eurozone. The euro is divided into 100 euro cents.
summaryLong: The euro is the official currency of 21 of the 27 member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the euro area, more commonly named the eurozone. The euro is divided into 100 euro cents.
lede: On January 1, 1999, eleven European countries adopted the euro as a common currency, replacing their national monies with a single shared system. The move was the most ambitious monetary experiment since World War II, designed to deepen European integration and simplify cross-border trade. It mattered because it reshaped how hundreds of millions of people handled money, and set the stage for what would become the world's second-most-used currency.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f5/Euro_Series_Banknotes_%282019%29_-_centered.png/1280px-Euro_Series_Banknotes_%282019%29_-_centered.png"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Euro"
importance: 86
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts: []
timeline: []
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro"
  title: Euro currency
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
categories:
- tech-launch
metaDescription: On January 1, 1999, eleven European nations adopted the euro, replacing their national currencies with a unified monetary system.
wikidataQid: Q4916
taxonomy:
domain: economic
eventTypes:
- currency_collapse
canonicalClasses:
- creation
- transformation
- exchange
impactRadius: global
velocity: gradual
predictability: scheduled
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: birth
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20040209215914/http://en.wikipedia.org:80/wiki/Euro"
  capturedAt: 2004-02-09
  label: Euro currency
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euro"
