The introduction of the banknotes and coins was the last step in a process which formally started at the European Council held in Maastricht in December 1991 and led to the signing of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992.
Euro cash has now been in circulation for almost nine months and, according to a recent survey by the European Commission, around 85% of the population of the euro area countries found the changeover to the new money a straightforward process.