The euro makes it easy to conduct business with other EU member countries and among world nations.
For example, travelers visiting EU countries no longer have to carry different national currencies for each country they visit.
16 of the 27 Member States of the European Union are part of the eurozone in 2010, and they are Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain.
The euro is the second largest reserve currency in the world and the second most traded currency after the U.S. dollar, with more than €800 billion in circulation in 2010.
The euro is managed by the Frankfurt-based European Central Bank, and was introduced to world financial markets as an official currency in 1999.
