About Ireland - The Euro

The euro is the currency of twelve European Union countries, stretching from the Mediterranean to the Arctic Circle (namely Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal and Finland).

Euro banknotes and coins have been in circulation since 1 January 2002 and are now a part of daily life for over 300 million Europeans living in the euro area.

History was made on 1st January 1999 when eleven European Union countries (later to become twelve) irrevocably established the conversion rates between their respective national currencies and the euro and created a monetary union with a single currency, giving birth to the euro.

Euro banknotes and coins entered circulation on 1st January 2002.

The euro symbol was designed by the Commission services. The final choice from among several proposed designs was made following a qualitative assessment by the general public conducted by a specialised organisation.

The € is inspired by the Greek epsilon pointing back to the cradle of European civilisation and the first letter of Europe, crossed by two parallel lines to indicate the stability of the euro.The early definition of a distinctive symbol for the euro also reflects the vocation of the euro to become one of the world's major currencies.