As the world welcomed 2024, another significant milestone in economic history completed 25 years.
The euro, the common currency of the 20-member euro zone, was first launched on New Year’s Day in 1999.
For the first three years of its existence, between January 1999 and December 2001, the euro remained ‘invisible’. ‘Invisible’ here means it was mainly used for accounting purposes and to make electronic payments.
On January 1, 2002, the physical form of euro in the form of coins and notes entered the Euro Zone market.