20 Years of Use of the Euro
Launched on 1 January 1999, the euro entered into circulation two years later, replacing the national notes and coins of 12 EU member states.
The introduction of the euro was a significant milestone in the integration of the European economy. The euro simplified people’s day-to-day lives. It facilitated the free circulation of people, goods and services. It strengthened trade and economic integration. The euro is one of the key elements in economic convergence among member states.
The euro is the most tangible and identifiable aspect of citizen participation in the construction of the European Union. The euro is, in itself, an element of unity. It is the currency of 19 member states, increasing to 20 from 1 January 2023, when we will be joined by Croatia. It is the currency of more than 340 million people and a symbol of European solidarity.
The euro is an element of stability. By ensuring price stability and recognising the importance of financial stability, it creates conditions for balanced and inclusive economic growth. Portugal benefited from entering what was then the EEC, and the natural progression of this European integration was to adopt the euro from the outset.
Over these last 20 years, the Portuguese economy has overcome financial crisis, the sovereign debt crisis and the pandemic crisis. In a Europe with an institutional model still under construction and, as such, imperfect, it was no mean feat to survive each of these crises. However, as the recent pandemic has proven, today, we have a more agile Europe with the ability to respond to such a colossal challenge.
In the period after the sovereign debt crisis, the efforts made to reduce the risk to individuals, companies and the state were unparalleled. The budgetary and financial results in the country attest to this. Portugal’s economy is now more open, more integrated, more stable and more resilient.
The coordination of economic policies during the pandemic crisis increased our awareness of just how much we benefit from being in the euro, and of what still needs to be done.
The euro is our currency.
Mário Centeno
Governor of the Bank of Portugal
