From Conception to Launch: Twenty Years of the Euro

Marking the occasion of the Euro’s twentieth anniversary, the Historical Archives of the European Union (HAEU) is launching an online exhibition examining the thirty year process of designing and implementing a single currency system in the European Union. Drawing upon archival documents and visual materials held by the HAEU, the Council of the EU, and the European Investment Bank and in cooperation with the European Central Bank’s archives services, the exhibit presents relevant documents, articles, interviews, and visual materials.

Covering the decades leading up to the 1999 electronic launch of the euro, the exhibit will follow the path from the original ideas to the implementation and impact of a single monetary system. It highlights the Werner and Delors reports, features some of the public opinions and controversies, and points to the future of Europe. Part timeline and part thematic approach, it aims to convey the complexity of the euro’s creation in terms of the political project, the citizens’ perception of the currency, and, ultimately, the public use of the currency.

The exhibition can be found here.