Malta · 10 years WWU

Economic and Monetary Union emerged gradually from European economic integration. The Treaty of Maastricht (Vertrag von Maastricht) established the prerequisites for a common currency. States wishing to participate had to meet the so-called convergence criteria. These included price stability, public debt, the budget deficit, exchange-rate stability and long-term interest rates. At the same time, the European Central Bank (Europäische Zentralbank) and the European System of Central Banks (Europäische System der Zentralbanken) were established for common monetary policy.

Initially, eleven states participated in the monetary union. Their exchange rates were fixed irrevocably, and monetary policy was transferred to the European level. At first, the euro was used only as book money, for example in cashless payments, finance and government accounts. Banknotes and coins did not enter circulation until 2002. Until then, the previous national means of payment remained in use, but were already economically fixed subdivisions of the euro. Greece joined the monetary union in 2001; further states followed after the introduction of cash.

The common currency was intended to complement the European internal market. It eliminated exchange-rate risks and conversion costs within the currency area, facilitated cross-border payments and made prices more directly comparable. At the same time, the participating states relinquished an independent national monetary and exchange-rate policy. Decisions on key interest rates and the money supply have since been taken centrally, while fiscal and budgetary policy fundamentally remained the responsibility of the individual states.

Its issue as a joint commemorative coin reflected this cross-border character. The design was not determined solely by a national mint: citizens and residents of the European Union were able to vote online on several proposals. The design by the Greek sculptor Georgios Stamatopoulos, who worked at the mint of the Bank of Greece (griechischen Zentralbank), was selected. His reduced visual language presents the common currency as the result of a long process of development in trade and economic exchange. The nearly simultaneous issue by the euro states at the time made the anniversary itself a joint numismatic occasion.