The Original Twelve Trivia Quiz

Answer:

The euro was introduced as a non-cash currency in 1999 in the 11 countries of the European Union meeting the so-called "convergence criteria" at that time. These criteria include a stable and reasonably balanced budget, a reasonable debt level and having maintained a fixed conversion rate to the other currencies for some time.

Greece followed suit in 2001 - in time for the introduction of euro coins and banknotes - although its inclusion was disputed due to high debt levels. During the initial period from 1999 to 2001, businesses and individuals could choose to have their bank accounts denominated in euro or the outgoing national currency.

On January 1, 2002, euro coins and banknotes became legal tender in these 12 countries. At this time, the local currencies were also phased out on bank accounts. Most countries had a two-month period in which the notes and coins of both the old and new currency were accepted by stores.

Since the initial introduction, eight more countries have adopted the euro: Slovenia (2007), Cyprus, Malta (both 2008), Slovakia (2009), Estonia (2011), Latvia (2014), Lithuania (2015) and Croatia (2023). In addition, Vatican City, San Marino, Monaco and Andorra all use the euro without being part of the actual system or the European Union as such; these four states are, however, allowed to mint some small number of euro coins with a national design each year. Those coins are rarely seen in circulation, most being picked up by collectors.

Technically, all members of the European Union except Denmark are obliged to adopt the euro as soon as they meet the criteria. However, Sweden has created its own de facto exception by simply refusing to allow its currency to be pegged to the euro. The remaining five EU members as of 2023 - Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, the Czech Republic and Romania - were all actively working towards euro membership at that time, but only Bulgaria already had a pegged currency at that time (it had unilaterally pegged its currency to the German Mark long before the euro came to be) and could technically meet the criteria by 2025.