On what date did the euro begin as an accounting currency?

On what date did the euro begin as an accounting currency? The answer is 1 January 1999.

That date marked the start of the euro’s third stage as Europe’s common currency. It was introduced in 11 countries for commercial, financial and electronic transactions, while national banknotes and coins continued to circulate. The participating countries were Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.

For its first three years, the euro was sometimes described as an “invisible” or book currency. Exchange rates between participating national currencies were fixed irrevocably, financial accounts could be denominated in euros, and monetary policy shifted to the Eurosystem. The European Central Bank began conducting common monetary policy for the euro area.

A common mix-up is 1 January 2002, when euro banknotes and coins entered circulation in the first 12 euro countries, including Greece. Thus, 1999 is the correct date for the accounting currency, while 2002 is the date most people associate with euro cash. The Maastricht Treaty supplied the legal and political route toward this monetary union.