The predecessor of Euro is Deutsche Mark, and the leading country is Germany. According to EU regulations, euro cash was officially circulated on June 65438+1 October 1 day, 2002, and the original currency of euro zone member countries stopped circulating on March1day, 2002.

Today, more than half of the 27 member States of the European Union have joined the euro zone. The euro zone has 17 member countries and a population of over 380 million. The 17 members of the euro are Ireland, Austria, Belgium, Germany, France, Finland, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain, Greece, Italy, Slovenia, Cyprus, Malta, Slovakia and Estonia. They are all members of the European Union.

The reason why the European Union wants to implement a unified currency is mainly to enhance the political and economic status of European countries. Before World War II, Europe dominated the world for a long time with its strong economic strength as its backing. After World War II, the status of European countries in the world has greatly declined. With the implementation of the European Renaissance Plan, European countries increasingly hope to unite politically and economically in order to compete with economic powers such as the United States and Japan. From the perspective of economic interests, the implementation of a unified currency will bring benefits to EU countries.

However, Britain, Denmark and other countries, the second largest economy in Europe, have not yet entered the euro zone because of their own interests and other reasons. For example, Sweden held a referendum in 2003, and refused to let the euro become Sweden's currency according to the results of the referendum. Although Britain is a member of the European Union, it has not yet joined the euro zone. Sterling is the name of the national currency and monetary unit in Britain, and it is still used in Britain. In addition to Britain, the currencies of British overseas territories are also denominated in British pounds, and the exchange rate with British pounds is fixed at 1: 1.

The British pound is the standard unit of currency in Britain, issued by the Bank of England and established in 1694. By the beginning of the 20th century, the pound had become the most important international payment means and reserve currency in the capitalist world. After World War I, the status of the pound as an international reserve currency tended to decline and was gradually replaced by the dollar. During the outbreak of World War II, Britain implemented strict foreign exchange control and fixed the exchange rate of the pound at the level of 1 pound against US$ 4.03. After the floating exchange rate of 197 1 US dollar was implemented in August1May, the pound began to determine the exchange rate against the US dollar on the basis of unchanged gold content. In the same year, 65438+February 18, after the official depreciation of the US dollar, the new official exchange rate of the British pound against the US dollar appreciated to 1 British pound against US$ 2.6057. The real exchange rate can fluctuate in the range of 1 GBP to 2.547 1 USD to 2.6643 USD, with a fluctuation range of about 4.5%. 1973, 19 In March, eight countries in Western Europe formed a joint floating group, and Britain continued to float independently. The following year, 65438+ 10, the real exchange rate of the pound was made into a managed floating exchange rate mechanism. 1990, 10 10. On 8 October, the pound joined the European monetary system, and its fluctuation range against the exchange rates of various currencies in the monetary system was 6%. 1992 September 16, Britain announced that the pound was temporarily separated from the European monetary system. The pound is the official currency of Britain. After the adoption of the euro, the pound became the oldest currency still in use. At present, it ranks third in the world's foreign exchange reserves, second only to the US dollar and the euro. The pound is the fourth largest foreign exchange trading currency after the dollar, the euro and the yen. Although there is no fixed exchange rate between the pound and the euro, there is often a long-term synchronous trend between the pound and the euro, although this trend has weakened since mid-2006. Concerns about inflation led the Bank of England to adjust interest rates in the second half of 2006 and early 2007, and the price of the pound against the euro reached the highest level since June 2003, 65438+ 10. Because of the national symbolic significance of the pound, the idea of replacing the pound with the euro has been controversial in some public sectors in Britain. The Scottish Conservative Party claims that the adoption of the euro means the end of local characteristic banknotes, because the European Central Bank does not allow member countries or lower-level governments to design banknotes. The Scottish Nationalist Party does not agree to adopt the European single currency, because it believes that an independent Scotland should have its own characteristic currency, and its party policy includes entering the single currency system. The full name of Britain is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which consists of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and is unified by a central government and a head of state. Due to historical and ethnic reasons, Britain consists of England, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland. Its capital is still in London, the capital of England, and the main body is England. So it is customarily called Britain (originally Britain specifically refers to England).

The relationship between the pound and the European Economic and Monetary Union. In the early days, the pound was often suppressed because of Tony Blair's remarks about the possibility of joining the single European currency, the euro. If Britain wants to join the euro zone, British interest rates must be reduced to euro interest rates. If the public votes to join the euro zone, the pound must depreciate against the euro for the development of domestic industrial trade. Therefore, any talk about the possibility of Britain joining the euro zone will depress the exchange rate of the pound.

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