The Euro currency is 25 years old

The Euro, which is used as the official currency of 20 of the 27 EU member states, was introduced as an accounting currency in 1999. On that date, the Euro was introduced to global financial markets.

Following a 3-year transition period, the Euro was introduced into daily life, entering circulation as banknotes and coins on January 1, 2002, and began to be used in daily transactions.

Currently, the Euro is used by 20 EU member countries: Germany, Austria, Belgium, Estonia, Finland, France, the Netherlands, Ireland, Spain, Italy, the Greek Cypriot Administration (GCA), Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Greece, and Croatia.

The monetary policy of these countries, referred to as the "Eurozone," is managed by the Eurosystem, which consists of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the central banks of the member countries.

The task of the Frankfurt-based ECB is defined as ensuring price stability in the Eurozone, which consists of EU member countries that use the Euro as their currency.

The ECB, whose primary mandate is to maintain price stability in the Eurozone by ensuring that inflation does not exceed 2 percent in the medium term, controls price increases by raising interest rates to discourage spending or lowering them to encourage consumption.

ECB interest rate decisions are made by the bank's Governing Council, which consists of the 6 members of the Executive Board and the governors of the national central banks of the 20 member countries.

The Council meets twice a month at the ECB's headquarters to assess the state of the economy and the currency, and to decide on monetary policy strategy every 6 weeks.

Supervising Eurozone banks, monitoring the financial system, printing Euro banknotes, ensuring secure payments with the Euro via card or online, and researching crypto assets are also among the ECB's other responsibilities.

News Source: AA