In a few years' time, the Euro will become the only legal tender in the countries participating in the EMU, the Economic and Monetary Union. This future European currency is called the Euro. The name was chosen during the European Summit in Madrid on 15 and 16 December 1995. The leaders of the member states of the European Union decided on this name after much debate. The name ECU will stop being used after the Euro has been adopted.

What the exact value of the Euro will be, is also still uncertain. This will be decided on 1 January 1999. The Euro is expected to be a strong currency. That stands to reason, as most participating countries' currencies are strong, and also because if it were not, it would be financially very disadvantageous for strong currency countries to join. For that reason, only countries with a strong currency will join. It has also been decided that the European Central Bank (ECB) will guarantee a strong currency. The statutes of the ECB state that prices must be stable, because of the exchange rates. The treaty also stipulates that the ECB will be independent from politics. The Dutch and German economies suggest that if a country's central bank is independent from politics, inflation is low and the currency is strong.

All EMU countries will have the same bank notes and coins. There will be seven bills - of 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500 euro - and eight coins, of 1, 2, 5, 10, 20 and 50 eurocents, and of 1 and 2 euro. The coins will have a national feature on one side, and perhaps the euro bill also, very small, on one side. In any case, the euro will be legal tender in any country of the EMU. The euro was designed by Henri Lucas.