Over the past century, the countries of Europe have become inferior to the United States politically, socially and economically. The euro, the new European currency which is now adopted by 12 members of the European Union, has more of a competitive edge against the US dollar and UK pound than the former European currencies. Though just beginning the circulation in 2002, the proposition of the euro took a long process and raises skepticism among the European society of its advantages and disadvantages.
The history of the euro begins back in 1957, with the Treaty of Rome, in which it declared a common European market, with the goal of increasing economic prosperity and contributing to a "closer union among the peoples of Europe" (History). Later on, the European Union organized the proposition in the European Currency Unit in 1979, to linked their currencies in efforts to prevent large fluctuations among one another, and to counter inflation among members (European). Then, the foundation of the euro had begun with the Single European Act in 1986, to keep to various currencies within a narrow range of value by changing the national interest rates (History). Finally, in 1992, the Treaty on European Union, which unified the economic policies of it members, paved the way for the new single European currency (History). In 1998, the new European Central Bank was established and the participating members which included Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain cut their interest rates to a low level to promote growth and to prepare the way for the euro (Q&A). The exchange rates of the 11 member currencies had been set and the currency was adopted for foreign exchange and electronic transactions (European). The introduction of the euro began at about $1.17 at its beginning, but dropped to about $.88 in 2000, showing how superior the American economy can be at times when compared to the European economy (European).
