Many of us will still remember the ferment of those months: the advent of a new currency, the euro, the single European currency, first provisionally from 1 January 2002 and then as the only exchangeable currency from 1 March of the same year , changed our lives forever. The euro thus comes of age: Exactly 18 years ago it became the only exchangeable currency not only for Italy but for 11 other European countries namely, in alphabetical order, Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Greece. For 11 countries (including Italy but excluding Greece, which took over only in 2001) the entry into force of the euro in the financial markets dates back to 1 January 1999.
Joining the euro (which in the meantime has expanded to 19 countries, with the addition of Slovenia, Cyprus, Malta, Slovakia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania over the years) is governed by the Maastricht Treaty of 1992, which concerns precisely the creation of economic and monetary union. The parameters set by that agreement were:
- a deficit equal to or less than 3% of gross domestic product;
- a public debt/GDP ratio of less than 60% (although Italy and Greece were allowed to access it with a much higher percentage, provided they reduced it over time);
- an inflation rate no more than 1,5 percentage points higher than the average of the three member states with the lowest inflation;
- long-term interest rates no more than 2 percentage points higher than the average of the three lowest-inflation member states;
- membership for at least two years in the European Monetary System.
We all know how the single currency works, how much it is worth and how it is made, but it is worth remembering, for the nostalgic, the value of the exchange rate with the lira: 1 euro was worth, at the time of its entry into force, slightly less than the old 2.000 lire, 1936,27 lire to be precise. On the other hand, compared to the American dollar, with which the comparison continues on a daily basis, the European currency has appreciated considerably in these 18 years: on 1 March 2002 it was bought with 0,86 dollars, today 1,09 is needed.
If it is very true that the euro has only been used permanently in Italy since 1 March 2002, there is a gem that few will remember: the euro was actually experimented for the first time in the municipalities of Fiesole and Pontassieve for six months from 1 October 1999.
