The European Central Bank is similar to many other central banks but the difference is most other banks are based out of one country. The European Central Bank is focused on a group of countries instead of one. The Euro came into existence on January 1, 1999 even though the United Kingdom and Denmark strongly opposed. The goal of having a monetary policy was to insure price stability and currency stability. By implementing the Euro it was supposed to be strong against the dollar and would help trading, investing and traveling. There was a belief that if the countries shared a single European currency it would facilitate growth, employment, and budgets in participating nations. Supporters of the euro also felt that a single European currency would boost trade by eliminating foreign exchange fluctuations and reducing prices. "On the first day of trading, 5 January, since its launch, the euro climbed to 1.19 USD. It was rapidly taken up and dealers were surprised by the speed at which it replaced the national currencies. ("The History of the Euro," n.d.)." The Euro was credited with creating solid growth and lower costs as companies saved up per year by not having exchange currencies. .
Shortly after the implementation of the Euro it quickly started to fail. The decline of the Euro began because of the rising debt in Europe and around the world. It was believed that a single currency among the countries could create stable economic conditions. Instead there were many downfalls to having a single currency among the countries. One example is it prevents any individual European country from solving local economic problems with their own monetary policy. Another example of this is a policy that intends to increase interest rates and reduce economic growth it might be beneficial to a country with a strong economy, but it may affect a country experiencing weak economic conditions.
