The euro is the official currency of the European Union (EU), used in 15 member states, known collectively as the Eurozone (Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain). The euro was formally established as a unit of exchange on 1-January-1999 and the banknotes and coins entered circulation in 12 member states on 1-January-2002.

Starting on 1-January- 2008, the euro became legal tender in Cyprus and Malta, replacing the Cyprus pound (CYP) and Maltese lira (MTL)

Later, from 1-February-2008, only euro banknotes and coins can be used for cash payments in Cyprus and Malta. In Cyprus,  banks and co-operative credit societies will exchange Cyprus pounds free of charge at the fixed conversion rate until 30-June-2008. Fees will be charged if the amount per customer and transaction exceeds CYP 1,000 for banknotes and CYP 50 for coins. Thereafter, it will still be possible to exchange Cyprus pound banknotes for ten years and coins for two years at the Central Bank of Cyprus.

currency sign: €

The special euro currency sign (€) was designed after a public survey had narrowed the original ten proposals down to two. The European Commission then chose the final design. The eventual winner was a design created by the Belgian Alain Billiet. However, the actual origin of the design is disputedThe official story of the design history of the euro sign is disputed by Arthur Eisenmenger, a former chief graphic designer for the European Community, who claims to have created it as a generic symbol of Europe. 

Banknotes

The euro banknotes were designed by Robert Kalina of the Austrian central bank (Oesterreichische Nationalbank) after winning the Europe-wide design competition held in 1996. The euro banknote series comprises seven different values (denominations): €5, €10, €20, €50, €100, €200 and €500.

banking code: EUR

Latvia's government has decided to change the euro to fit their language, in which Europe is Eiropa and euro eiro.

Other Posible uses of Eiro (Acronym Definition)
EIRO Euro
EIRO E-connected Intelligent Remote Operations
EIRO European Industrial Relations Observatory