It has been a long time in the making, but scheduled plans have marked January 1, 2002 as the date that the new Euro currency banknotes and coins will be introduced in Europe. July 1, 2002 is the designated day that the changeover to a monetary union will be complete. The discussion as to the risks and benefits of this monetary union has been all the talk around the world. This union will have vast and far-reaching effects that will touch not only the countries in the union, but the entire world. There will be a dramatic and radical economic change in Europe. All national currencies will disappear and there will be only one money, the European Currency Unit or ECU.
Europe’s economy was in shambles after the end of World War II. They had invested a lot of money and
