The idea was to call the new currency the ECU, as it had been since 1979, until it was found out that the écu was actually the name of gold coins of France during the reign of Louis XI (Photo: Valentina Pop)

2002: Say hello to your new currency, the euro

20th Anniversary

by Koert Debeuf, Brussels,

In 2002, the first notes and coins of the new currency, the euro, started to circulate in 11 countries of the European Union, quickly replacing national currencies.

Together with the Schengen agreement of 1995 which abolished border controls within the European Schengen area, the euro is the most important symbol of European unification.

The introduction of the euro was decided in 1992, during the summit in Maastricht, but had a longer history than that.

Way back in 1929, G...