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115-539: The euro ( symbol : € ; currency code : EUR ) is the official currency of 20 of the 27 member states of the European Union . This group of states is officially known as the euro area or, more commonly, the eurozone . The euro is divided into 100 euro cents . The currency is also used officially by the institutions of the European Union , by four European microstates that are not EU members,

230-828: A Roman pound of silver. Newly invented currencies and currencies adopting new symbols have symbolism meaningful to their adopter. For example, the euro sign € is based on ϵ , an archaic form of the Greek epsilon , to represent Europe; the Indian rupee sign ₹ is a blend of the Latin letter ' R ' with the Devanagari letter र ( ra ); and the Russian Ruble sign ₽ is based on Р (the Cyrillic capital letter 'er' ). There are other considerations, such as how

345-594: A 34-year hiatus from 1968 to 2002. Defence of the overseas territories is the responsibility of the United Kingdom. Many of the overseas territories are used as military bases by the United Kingdom- and its allies: As overseas territories were added to the land conquered by the British, a number of towns and villages began to request formal recognition to validate their importance, and would be accorded

460-584: A UK police force, and specialist staff and equipment may be sent to assist the local force. Some territories may have other forces beyond the main territorial police, for instance an airport police, such as Airport Security Police (Bermuda) , or a defence police force, such as the Gibraltar Defence Police . In addition, most territories have customs, immigration, border and coastguard agencies. Territories with military bases or responsibilities may also have "Overseas Service Police", members of

575-548: A budget deficit of less than 3% of their GDP, a debt ratio of less than 60% of GDP (both of which were ultimately widely flouted after introduction), low inflation, and interest rates close to the EU average. In the Maastricht Treaty, the United Kingdom and Denmark were granted exemptions per their request from moving to the stage of monetary union which resulted in the introduction of the euro (see also United Kingdom and

690-467: A colony, at the same time re-designated a British Dependent Territory . This category of citizenship was distinguished from British Citizenship by what it did not include — the rights of abode and free entry to the United Kingdom — and was not specific to any colony but to all collectively, except for Gibraltar and the Falklands Islands, the people of which retained British Citizenship . It

805-535: A different constitutional relationship with the United Kingdom. The British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies are themselves distinct from the Commonwealth realms , a group of 15 independent countries (including the United Kingdom) sharing Charles III as monarch and head of state , and from the Commonwealth of Nations , a voluntary association of 56 countries mostly with historic links to

920-400: A governor is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the British government. Currently (2019) all but two governors are either career diplomats or have worked in other civil service departments. The remaining two governors are former members of the British armed forces. In territories without a permanent population, a commissioner is usually appointed to represent the monarch. Exceptionally, in

1035-540: A status if deemed to be deserving such as a borough or as a more prestigious city by the monarch. Many cities were designated over several centuries, and as Anglican dioceses began to be created internationally from the 18th century, the process of city creation became aligned to that used in England, being linked to the presence of a cathedral . Later on, this process became untenable and other selection criteria and royal occasions were used instead. However, mainly from

1150-456: A total of 21 countries and territories that do not belong to the EU have currencies that are directly pegged to the euro including 14 countries in mainland Africa ( CFA franc ), two African island countries ( Comorian franc and Cape Verdean escudo ), three French Pacific territories ( CFP franc ) and two Balkan countries, Bosnia and Herzegovina ( Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark ) and North Macedonia ( Macedonian denar ). On 1 January 2010,

1265-596: Is a major donor to the EFSF. To be included in the eurozone, countries had to fulfil certain convergence criteria , but the meaningfulness of such criteria was diminished by the fact it was not enforced with the same level of strictness among countries. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit in 2011, "[I]f the [euro area] is treated as a single entity, its [economic and fiscal] position looks no worse and in some respects, rather better than that of

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1380-802: Is also the sole currency in three overseas territories of France that are not themselves part of the EU, namely Saint Barthélemy , Saint Pierre and Miquelon , and the French Southern and Antarctic Lands , as well as in the British Overseas Territory of Akrotiri and Dhekelia . The euro has been adopted unilaterally as the sole currency of Montenegro and Kosovo. It has also been used as a foreign trading currency in Cuba since 1998, Syria since 2006, and Venezuela since 2018. In 2009, Zimbabwe abandoned its local currency and introduced major global convertible currencies instead, including

1495-468: Is discouraged by the commission, as is the practice of certain shops of refusing to accept high-value euro notes. Commemorative coins with €2 face value have been issued with changes to the design of the national side of the coin. These include both commonly issued coins, such as the €2 commemorative coin for the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Rome, and nationally issued coins, such as

1610-603: Is impossible to find a jury who will not know the defendant in a small population island. Whilst many are geographically remote, the British Overseas Territories share a direct connection with elements of supervisory governance (as did the now independent Commonwealth Nations) still exercisable by the UK’s Government in London, UK. The 2004 Pitcairn Islands sexual assault trial is an example of how

1725-543: Is placed in the decimal separator position, as in 2 [REDACTED] 50 . Older currency symbols have evolved slowly, often from previous currencies. The modern dollar and peso symbols originated from the mark employed to denote the Spanish dollar , whereas the pound and lira symbols evolved from the letter L (written until the seventeenth century in blackletter type as L {\displaystyle {\mathfrak {L}}} ) standing for libra ,

1840-463: Is used elsewhere in Misplaced Pages to refer to all such statuses of various of the British Overseas Territories collectively. This status is neither a nationality nor a citizenship, although it confers rights under local legislation. Prior to 1968, the British government made no citizenship (or connected rights) distinction between its nationals in the United Kingdom and those in the British colonies (as

1955-604: The British Overseas Territories Act 2002 ). Most countries do not recognise the sovereignty claims of any other country, including Britain's, to Antarctica and its off-shore islands. Five nations contest, with counter-claims, the UK's sovereignty in the following overseas territories: The people of the British Overseas Territories are British Nationals. Most of the overseas territories distinguish between those British nationals who have rights reserved under

2070-403: The British Overseas Territory of Akrotiri and Dhekelia , as well as unilaterally by Montenegro and Kosovo . Outside Europe, a number of special territories of EU members also use the euro as their currency. Additionally, over 200 million people worldwide use currencies pegged to the euro . The euro is the second-largest reserve currency as well as the second-most traded currency in

2185-807: The Commonwealth of Nations through the United Kingdom. The inhabited territories compete in their own right at the Commonwealth Games , and three of the territories ( Bermuda , the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands ) sent teams to the 2016 Summer Olympics . Although the Crown Dependencies of Jersey , Guernsey and the Isle of Man are also under the sovereignty of the British monarch , they are in

2300-644: The European Central Bank (ECB, Frankfurt am Main ) and the Eurosystem , composed of the central banks of the eurozone countries. As an independent central bank, the ECB has sole authority to set monetary policy . The Eurosystem participates in the printing, minting and distribution of euro banknotes and coins in all member states, and the operation of the eurozone payment systems. The 1992 Maastricht Treaty obliges most EU member states to adopt

2415-879: The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has the responsibility of looking after the interests of all overseas territories except the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, which comes under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defence . Within the FCDO, the general responsibility for the territories is handled by the Overseas Territories Directorate. In 2012, the FCO published The Overseas Territories: security, success and sustainability which set out Britain's policy for

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2530-677: The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and are subject to change. Most of the territories retain permanent civilian populations, with the exceptions of the British Antarctic Territory , South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (which host only officials and research station staff) and the British Indian Ocean Territory (used as a military base). Permanent residency for the approximately 7,000 civilians living in

2645-514: The International Court of Justice , which issued an advisory opinion on 25 February 2019 which supported the position of the government of Mauritius. On 3 October 2024, British prime minister Keir Starmer and Mauritian prime minister Pravind Jugnauth jointly announced that an agreement had been reached under which the UK would cede sovereignty over the territory. Under the deal, Diego Garcia will be excluded from any resettlement, and

2760-516: The New Palace of Westminster . Speaker of the House of Commons , Sir Lindsay Hoyle said "The two windows represent part of our United Kingdom family". The head of state in the overseas territories is the British monarch, currently King Charles III. The monarch appoints a representative in each territory to exercise the executive power of the monarch. In territories with a permanent population,

2875-466: The United Kingdom were stripped of the rights of abode and free entry in 1968, and, in 1983, the British government replaced Citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies with British Citizenship (with rights of abode and free entry to the United Kingdom) for those with a qualifying connection to the United Kingdom or British Dependent Territories Citizenship for those with a connection only to

2990-602: The dobra of São Tomé and Príncipe was officially linked with the euro. Additionally, the Moroccan dirham is tied to a basket of currencies, including the euro and the US dollar, with the euro given the highest weighting. These countries generally had previously implemented a currency peg to one of the major European currencies (e.g. the French franc , Deutsche Mark or Portuguese escudo ), and when these currencies were replaced by

3105-407: The handover of Hong Kong to China in 1997, the British government amended the 1981 Act to give British citizenship without restrictions to all BDTCs (the status was also renamed BOTC at the same time) except for those solely connected with Akrotiri and Dhekelia (whose residents already held Cypriot citizenship ). This restored the right of abode in the UK to residents of overseas territories after

3220-505: The " eurozone ", some 347 million people in total as of 2023. According to bilateral agreements with the EU , the euro has also been designated as the sole and official currency in a further four European microstates awarded minting rights (Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican City). All but one (Denmark) current, and any potential future EU members, are obliged to adopt the euro when economic conditions permit. The euro

3335-677: The 1920s become known as dominions . The dominions achieved almost full independence with the Statute of Westminster (1931) . Through a process of decolonisation following the Second World War, most of the British colonies in Africa, Asia and the Caribbean chose independence. Some colonies became Commonwealth realms , retaining the monarch as their own head of state . Most former colonies and protectorates became member states of

3450-566: The Antarctic territory is only 18,015 km  [6,956 sq mi]), while the two largest territories by population, the Cayman Islands and Bermuda , account for about half of the total BOT population. The Cayman Islands alone comprise 28% of the entire BOT population. At the other end of the scale, three territories have no civilian inhabitants – the Antarctic Territory (currently consisting of five research stations),

3565-479: The British Empire (which also includes all Commonwealth realms). Notably, while not independent Commonwealth realms, the territories are separately represented at the Commonwealth Games on the same basis as independent nation members, as are the three Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and Isle of Man. Full British citizenship has been granted to most 'belongers' of overseas territories (mainly since

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3680-606: The British Indian Ocean Territory (whose inhabitants, the Chagossians , were forcibly moved to Mauritius and the United Kingdom between 1968 and 1973), and South Georgia (which actually did have a full-time population of two between 1992 and 2006). Pitcairn Islands , settled by the survivors of the mutiny on the Bounty , is the smallest settled territory, with 49 inhabitants (all of whom live on

3795-560: The British Overseas Territories were then termed). Indeed, the people of Bermuda had been explicitly guaranteed by Royal Charters for the Virginia Company in 1607 (extended to Bermuda in 1612) and the Somers Isles Company (in 1615) that they and their descendants would have exactly the same rights as they would if they had they been born in England. Despite this, British Colonials without a qualifying connection to

3910-491: The British Parliament passed the British Overseas Territories Act 2002 which introduced the current name of British Overseas Territories . This reclassified the UK's dependent territories as overseas territories and, with the exception of those people solely connected with the Sovereign Base Areas on Cyprus, restored full British citizenship to their inhabitants. During the European Union (EU) membership of

4025-441: The British or Commonwealth Armed Forces. A Joint Ministerial Council of UK ministers, and the leaders of the overseas territories has been held annually since 2012 to provide representation between UK government departments and overseas territory governments. The British Antarctic Territory overlaps with territory claims by both Argentina and Chile. However, territorial claims on the continent may not currently be advanced, under

4140-542: The Commonwealth of Nations , a non-political, voluntary association of equal members, comprising a population of around 2.2 billion people. After the independence of Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe ) in Africa in 1980 and British Honduras (now Belize ) in Central America in 1981, the last major colony that remained was Hong Kong , with a population of over 5 million. With 1997 approaching,

4255-582: The ECB's banknotes are put into circulation by the NCBs, thereby incurring matching liabilities vis-à-vis the ECB. These liabilities carry interest at the main refinancing rate of the ECB. The other 92% of euro banknotes are issued by the NCBs in proportion to their respective shares of the ECB capital key, calculated using national share of European Union (EU) population and national share of EU GDP, equally weighted. Member states are authorised to print or to commission bank note printing. As of November 2022, these are

4370-604: The EU since 1993 have pledged to adopt the euro in due course. The Maastricht Treaty was amended by the 2001 Treaty of Nice , which closed the gaps and loopholes in the Maastricht and Rome Treaties. The 20 participating members are EU Outermost Regions : Overseas Territories : Special Autonomous Territories : Microstates with a monetary agreement: British Overseas Territory : Unilateral adopters: The following EU member states committed themselves in their respective Treaty of Accession to adopt

4485-571: The EU, but they are the only British Overseas Territory to use the Euro as official currency, having previously had the Cypriot pound as their currency until 1 January 2008. On 15 May 2023, the sixteen heraldic shields of the British Overseas Territories and the three coat of arms of the Crown Dependencies were "immortalised" in two new stained-glass windows , unveiled in the Speaker's House at

4600-461: The European Union , the Latin alphabet version of euro is used (as opposed to the less common Greek or Cyrillic) and Arabic numerals (other text is used on national sides in national languages, but other text on the common side is avoided). For the denominations except the 1-, 2- and 5-cent coins, the map only showed the 15 member states of the union as of 2002. Beginning in 2007 or 2008 (depending on

4715-747: The FCDO in London. Some territories maintain diplomatic officers in nearby countries for trade and immigration purposes. Several of the territories in the Americas maintain membership within the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States , the Caribbean Community , the Caribbean Development Bank , Caribbean Disaster Emergency Management Agency and the Association of Caribbean States . The territories are members of

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4830-719: The Falkland Islands treated as a part of the UK proper through the enactment of British Nationality (Falkland Islands) Act 1983 due to the Falklands War with Argentina; and Gibraltarians, who were given the special entitlement to be registered as British citizens upon request without further conditions because of its individual membership in the European Economic Area and the European Economic Community . Five years after

4945-558: The Overseas Territories, covering six main areas: Britain and the Overseas Territories do not have diplomatic representations, although the governments of the overseas territories with indigenous populations all retain a representative office in London. The United Kingdom Overseas Territories Association (UKOTA) also represents the interests of the territories in London. The governments in both London and territories occasionally meet to mitigate or resolve disagreements over

5060-603: The Portuguese escudos , which ceased to have monetary value after 31 December 2002, although banknotes remained exchangeable until 2022. A special euro currency sign (€) was designed after a public survey had narrowed ten of the original thirty proposals down to two. The President of the European Commission at the time ( Jacques Santer ) and the European Commissioner with responsibility for

5175-459: The Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia is limited to citizens of the Republic of Cyprus . Collectively, the territories encompass a population of about 250,000 people and a land area of about 480,000 sq nmi (1,600,000 km ). The vast majority of this land area constitutes the almost uninhabited British Antarctic Territory (the land area of all the territories excepting

5290-541: The UK Parliament and the territories. He said that the UK Government's new "Votes for Life" policy mean all Gibraltarians who have previously lived in the UK, for example as students, can now register to vote in its general elections - regardless of how long ago they lived there. However, Fabian Picardo highlighted that, overall, there is no formal mechanism to ensure Gibraltar's interests are represented under

5405-547: The UK Parliament, as well as backbench members of the Conservative Party and Labour Party . The Chief Minister has argued that all British citizens in overseas territories should have the right to vote in UK parliamentary elections. On 29 January 2024, the Chief Minister of Gibraltar, Fabian Picardo, addressed the House of Commons Committee on territorial constitution, looking at the relationship between

5520-620: The UK remains the official administrative power of these territories, and under Article 73 is therefore required "to develop self-government, to take due account of the political aspirations of the peoples, and to assist them in the progressive development of their free political institutions." Historically the Secretary of State for the Colonies and the Colonial Office were responsible for overseeing all British Colonies, but today

5635-438: The UK was replaced by British Dependent Territories citizenship (BDTC) in the newly minted British Nationality Act 1981 , a status that does not come with it the right of abode in the UK or any overseas territory. For these residents, registration as full British citizens then required physical residence in the UK proper. There were only two exceptions: Falkland Islanders, who were automatically granted British citizenship, and with

5750-655: The UK will continue to administer the island for at least 99 years. Of the eleven territories with a permanent population, all except the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia in Cyprus continue to be listed by the UN Special Committee on Decolonization as non-self-governing territories since they were listed as dependent territories by the UK when it joined the UN in 1947. This means that

5865-402: The UK, including: The territories have no official representation in the UK Parliament, but have informal representation through the all-party parliamentary group , and can petition the UK government through the Directgov e-Petitions website. Two national parties, UK Independence Party and the Liberal Democrats , have endorsed calls for direct representation of overseas territories in

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5980-411: The US dollar, peaking at US$ 1.60 on 18 July 2008 and since then returning near to its original issue rate. On 13 July 2022, the two currencies hit parity for the first time in nearly two decades due in part to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine . Then, in September 2022, the US dollar again had a face value higher than the Euro, at around US dollar 0.95 per euro. The euro is managed and administered by

6095-433: The US or the UK" and the budget deficit for the euro area as a whole is much lower and the euro area's government debt/GDP ratio of 86% in 2010 was about the same level as that of the United States. "Moreover", they write, "private-sector indebtedness across the euro area as a whole is markedly lower than in the highly leveraged Anglo-Saxon economies". The authors conclude that the crisis "is as much political as economic" and

6210-398: The United Kingdom , the main body of EU law did not apply and, although certain slices of EU law were applied to the overseas territories as part of the EU's Association of Overseas Countries and Territories (OCT Association), they were not commonly enforceable in local courts. The OCT Association also provided overseas territories with structural funding for regeneration projects. Gibraltar

6325-417: The United Kingdom and China negotiated the Sino-British Joint Declaration , which led to the whole of Hong Kong becoming a special administrative region of China in 1997, subject to various conditions intended to guarantee the preservation of Hong Kong's capitalist economy and its way of life under British rule for at least 50 years after the handover . George Town , Cayman Islands , has consequently become

6440-441: The United Kingdom may choose to provide the legal framework for particular cases where the territory cannot do so alone. The highest court for all the British overseas territories is the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in London. The British overseas territories generally look after their own policing matters and have their own police forces . In smaller territories, the senior officer(s) may be recruited or seconded from

6555-436: The United Kingdom retaining responsibility for defence , foreign relations , and internal security, and ultimate responsibility for "good" governance. Three of the territories are chiefly or only inhabited by military or scientific personnel, the rest hosting significant civilian populations. All fourteen have the British monarch as head of state . These UK government responsibilities are assigned to various departments of

6670-522: The United States in relation to Bermuda, with which it has retained close links since Bermuda was founded as an extension of Virginia). In regard to movement within British sovereign territory, only British citizenship grants the right of abode in a specific country or territory, namely, the United Kingdom proper (which includes its three Crown Dependencies ). Individual overseas territories have legislative independence over immigration, and consequently, BOTC status, as noted above, does not automatically grant

6785-427: The United States were relatively strong creditors – gained attention in summer 2012 even as Germany received a debt-rating warning of its own. The euro is the sole currency of 20 EU member states : Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain. These countries constitute

6900-406: The War of the Spanish Succession. The British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT) was the subject of a territorial dispute with Mauritius , the government of which claims that the separation of the Chagos Archipelago from the rest of British Mauritius in 1965, three years before Mauritius was granted independence from the United Kingdom, was unlawful. The long-running dispute was referred in 2017 to

7015-419: The advice of the UK government. To comply with the court's decision, the territorial governors now act on the advice of each territory's executive and the UK government can no longer disallow legislation passed by territorial legislatures. The role of the governor is to act as the de facto head of state , and they are usually responsible for appointing the head of government, and senior political positions in

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7130-490: The archipelago in 1612. St. George's town, founded in Bermuda in that year, remains the oldest continuously inhabited British settlement in the New World (with some historians stating that – its formation predating the 1619 conversion of James Fort into Jamestown – St. George's was actually the first successful town the English established in the New World ). Bermuda and Bermudians have played important, sometimes pivotal, but generally underestimated or unacknowledged roles in

7245-415: The citizenship shown as British Overseas Territories Citizen in order to prove their entitlement to obtain a passport with the citizenship shown as British Citizen , most now have two passports, although the local governments of the territories do not distinguish an individual's local status based on either form of citizenship, and the passport with the citizenship shown as British Citizen consequently shows

7360-463: The coin to commemorate the 2004 Summer Olympics issued by Greece. These coins are legal tender throughout the eurozone. Collector coins with various other denominations have been issued as well, but these are not intended for general circulation, and they are legal tender only in the member state that issued them. A number of institutions are authorised to mint euro coins: The design for the euro banknotes has common designs on both sides. The design

7475-417: The common side of all cent coins). In Community legislative acts the plural forms of euro and cent are spelled without the s , notwithstanding normal English usage. Otherwise, normal English plurals are used, with many local variations such as centime in France. All circulating coins have a common side showing the denomination or value, and a map in the background. Due to the linguistic plurality in

7590-434: The constituency system - just the voluntary interest of individual MPs, such as those in the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Gibraltar. The Chief Minister acknowledged the difficulty of finding a system to accommodate Westminster representation and OT's self-governance - but said that the "Pandora's Box" of devolution had opened a window to how this could be addressed. Foreign affairs of the overseas territories are handled by

7705-434: The country that issued the coin. Euro coins from any member state may be freely used in any nation that has adopted the euro. The coins are issued in denominations of €2 , €1 , 50c , 20c , 10c , 5c , 2c , and 1c . To avoid the use of the two smallest coins, some cash transactions are rounded to the nearest five cents in the Netherlands and Ireland (by voluntary agreement) and in Finland and Italy (by law). This practice

7820-404: The country), the old map was replaced by a map of Europe also showing countries outside the EU . The 1-, 2- and 5-cent coins, however, keep their old design, showing a geographical map of Europe with the EU member states as of 2002, raised somewhat above the rest of the map. All common sides were designed by Luc Luycx . The coins also have a national side showing an image specifically chosen by

7935-506: The default citizenship was renamed British Overseas Territories Citizenship (except still for Gibraltar and the Falkland Islands, for which British Citizenship remained the default), the immigration bars against its holders were lowered, and its holders were also entitled to obtain British Citizenship by obtaining a second British Passport (something that had previously been illegal) with the citizenship so indicated. As British Overseas Territories Citizens must provide their British Passport with

8050-426: The euro ( Yves-Thibault de Silguy ) then chose the winning design. Regarding the symbol, the European Commission stated on behalf of the European Union : The symbol € is based on the Greek letter epsilon (Є), with the first letter in the word "Europe" and with 2 parallel lines signifying stability. The European Commission also specified a euro logo with exact proportions. Placement of the currency sign relative to

8165-444: The euro ). The name "euro" was officially adopted in Madrid on 16 December 1995. Belgian Esperantist Germain Pirlot , a former teacher of French and history, is credited with naming the new currency by sending a letter to then President of the European Commission , Jacques Santer , suggesting the name "euro" on 4 August 1995. Due to differences in national conventions for rounding and significant digits, all conversion between

8280-523: The euro and the United States dollar. The direct usage of the euro outside of the official framework of the EU affects nearly 3 million people. Outside the eurozone, two EU member states have currencies that are pegged to the euro , which is a precondition to joining the eurozone. The Danish krone and Bulgarian lev are pegged due to their participation in the ERM ;II . Additionally,

8395-399: The euro their currencies became pegged to the euro. Pegging a country's currency to a major currency is regarded as a safety measure, especially for currencies of areas with weak economies, as the euro is seen as a stable currency, prevents runaway inflation, and encourages foreign investment due to its stability. In total, as of 2013, 182 million people in Africa use a currency pegged to

8510-444: The euro upon meeting certain monetary and budgetary convergence criteria , although not all participating states have done so. Denmark has negotiated exemptions, while Sweden (which joined the EU in 1995, after the Maastricht Treaty was signed) turned down the euro in a 2003 non-binding referendum , and has circumvented the obligation to adopt the euro by not meeting the monetary and budgetary requirements. All nations that have joined

8625-515: The euro, 27 million people outside the eurozone in Europe, and another 545,000 people on Pacific islands. Currency symbol A symbol may be positioned in various ways, according to national convention: before, between or after the numeric amounts: €2.50 , 2,50€ and 2 [REDACTED] 50 . Symbols are neither defined nor listed by international standard ISO 4217 , which only assigns three-letter codes. When writing currency amounts,

8740-549: The euro. However they do not have a deadline to do so and can delay the process by deliberately not complying with the convergence criteria (such as by not meeting the convergence criteria to join ERM II). Bulgaria and Romania are actively working to adopt the euro, while the remaining states do not have a migration plan in progress. The euro is divided into 100 cents (also referred to as euro cents , especially when distinguishing them from other currencies, and referred to as such on

8855-420: The eurozone are also treated as domestic transactions; however paper-based payment orders, like cheques, have not been standardised so these are still domestic-based. The ECB has also set up a clearing system , TARGET , for large euro transactions. The euro was established by the provisions in the 1992 Maastricht Treaty . To participate in the currency, member states are meant to meet strict criteria , such as

8970-426: The former European Currency Unit (ECU) at a ratio of 1:1 (US$ 1.1743 at the time). Physical euro coins and banknotes entered into circulation on 1 January 2002, making it the day-to-day operating currency of its original members, and by March 2002 it had completely replaced the former currencies. Between December 1999 and December 2002, the euro traded below the US dollar, but has since traded near parity with or above

9085-732: The governor based in New Zealand. Following the Lords' decision in Ex parte Quark, 2005, it is held that the King in exercising his authority over British Overseas Territories does not act on the advice of the government of the UK, but in his role as king of each territory, with the exception of fulfilling the UK's international responsibilities for its territories. The reserve powers of the Crown for each territory are no longer considered to be exercisable on

9200-459: The holder to be entitled to all of the same right as does the passport with the citizenship shown as British Overseas Territories Citizen , and is often required to access services in the United Kingdom, and is accepted by the immigration authorities of more foreign countries, many of which have barriers against holders of British Overseas Territories Citizen passport holders that do not apply to British Citizen passport holders (the exception being

9315-715: The holding measures of the Antarctic Treaty System . Gibraltar was captured from Spain in 1704 by a force led by Admiral Sir George Rooke representing the Grand Alliance on behalf of the Archduke Charles, pretender to the Spanish throne. Spanish attempts to regain the territory failed, and it was eventually ceded to the Britain under the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht as part of the settlement of

9430-555: The initial designs by Robert Kalina were of specific bridges, including the Rialto and the Pont de Neuilly , and were subsequently rendered more generic; the final designs still bear very close similarities to their specific prototypes; thus they are not truly generic. The monuments looked similar enough to different national monuments to please everyone. The Europa series, or second series, consists of six denominations and no longer includes

9545-498: The largest city among the dependent territories, partly because of the constant and healthy flow of immigration to the city and the territory as a whole, which saw its population jump 26% from 2010 to 2021, the fastest population growth of any of the territories. Prior to 1 January 1983, the territories were officially referred to as the Crown Colonies . At that time they were renamed British Dependent Territories . In 2002,

9660-511: The local government for those with a qualifying connection to the territory. In Bermuda, by example, this is called Bermudian status , and can be inherited or obtained subject to conditions laid down by the local government (non-British nationals must necessarily obtain British nationality in order to obtain Bermudian status). Although the expression "belonger status" is not used in Bermuda, it

9775-647: The location of the symbol varies by language. For currencies in English-speaking countries and in most of Latin America, the symbol is placed before the amount, as in $ 20.50 . In most other countries, including many in Europe, the symbol is placed after the amount, as in 20,50€ . Exceptionally, the symbol for the Cape Verdean escudo (like the Portuguese escudo , to which it was formerly pegged )

9890-530: The middle of the 19th century to the early 20th century, the larger settler colonies – in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa – first became self-governing colonies and then achieved independence in all matters except foreign policy, defence and trade. Separate self-governing colonies federated to become Canada (in 1867), Australia (in 1901), South Africa (in 1910) and Rhodesia (in 1965). These and other large self-governing colonies had by

10005-555: The names of currencies in Japanese katakana . They are intended for compatibility with earlier character sets. British Overseas Territory The British Overseas Territories ( BOTs ) are the fourteen territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom that, while not forming part of the United Kingdom itself, are part of its sovereign territory. The permanently inhabited territories are delegated varying degrees of internal self-governance , with

10120-685: The national currencies ceased to be legal tender varied from member state to member state. The earliest date was in Germany, where the mark officially ceased to be legal tender on 31 December 2001, though the exchange period lasted for two months more. Even after the old currencies ceased to be legal tender, they continued to be accepted by national central banks for periods ranging from several years to indefinitely (the latter for Austria, Germany, Ireland, Estonia and Latvia in banknotes and coins, and for Belgium, Luxembourg, Slovenia and Slovakia in banknotes only). The earliest coins to become non-convertible were

10235-558: The national currencies had to be carried out using the process of triangulation via the euro. The definitive values of one euro in terms of the exchange rates at which the currency entered the euro are shown in the table. The rates were determined by the Council of the European Union , based on a recommendation from the European Commission based on the market rates on 31 December 1998. They were set so that one European Currency Unit (ECU) would equal one euro. The European Currency Unit

10350-691: The numeric amount varies from state to state, but for texts in English published by EU institutions, the symbol (or the ISO -standard "EUR") should precede the amount. Following the U.S. financial crisis in 2008, fears of a sovereign debt crisis developed in 2009 among investors concerning some European states, with the situation becoming particularly tense in early 2010 . Greece was most acutely affected, but fellow Eurozone members Cyprus , Ireland , Italy , Portugal , and Spain were also significantly affected. All these countries used EU funds except Italy, which

10465-490: The overseas territories of Saint Helena, Ascension, Tristan da Cunha and the Pitcairn Islands, an administrator is appointed to be the governor's representative. In the territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha, there is an administrator in each of the two distant parts of the territory, namely Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha . The administrator of the Pitcairn Islands resides on Pitcairn, with

10580-635: The people of the British Dependent Territories (other than those of Gibraltar and the Falklands), which was understood universally as intended to raise a colour bar and had done so given that most white colonials were not affected by it and had made restoration of a single citizenship part of its election manifesto. In 2002, when the British Dependent Territories became the British Overseas Territories ,

10695-460: The permanent English colonisation of North America began officially in 1607 with the settlement of Jamestown , the first successful permanent colony in Virginia (a term that was then applied generally to North America). Its offshoot, Bermuda , was settled inadvertently after the wrecking of the Virginia Company 's flagship there in 1609, with the company's charter extended to officially include

10810-401: The printers: Capital within the EU may be transferred in any amount from one state to another. All intra-Union transfers in euro are treated as domestic transactions and bear the corresponding domestic transfer costs. This includes all member states of the EU, even those outside the eurozone providing the transactions are carried out in euro. Credit/debit card charging and ATM withdrawals within

10925-464: The process of governance in the territories and levels of autonomy. Britain provides financial assistance to the overseas territories via the FCDO (previously the Department for International Development ). As of 2019, only Montserrat, Saint Helena, Pitcairn and Tristan da Cunha receive budgetary aid (i.e. financial contribution to recurrent funding). Several specialist funds are made available by

11040-508: The public; a design competition will also be held. Since 1 January 2002, the national central banks (NCBs) and the ECB have issued euro banknotes on a joint basis. Eurosystem NCBs are required to accept euro banknotes put into circulation by other Eurosystem members and these banknotes are not repatriated. The ECB issues 8% of the total value of banknotes issued by the Eurosystem. In practice,

11155-453: The result of the fact that the euro area lacks the support of "institutional paraphernalia (and mutual bonds of solidarity) of a state". The crisis continued with S&P downgrading the credit rating of nine euro-area countries, including France, then downgrading the entire European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) fund. A historical parallel – to 1931 when Germany was burdened with debt, unemployment and austerity while France and

11270-445: The right of abode in any of the territories, as it depends on the territory's immigration laws. A territory may issue belonger status to allow a person to reside in the territory that they have close links with. The governor or immigration department of a territory may also grant the territorial status to a resident who does not hold it as a birthright. From 1949 to 1983, the nationality status of Citizenship of UK and Colonies (CUKC)

11385-472: The sense of English subjects residing in lands hitherto outside the control of the English government, were generally known as plantations . The first, unofficial, colony was Newfoundland Colony , where English fishermen routinely set up seasonal camps in the 16th century. It is now a province of Canada known as Newfoundland and Labrador . After failed attempts, including the Roanoke Colony ,

11500-649: The shaping of the English and British transatlantic empires. These include maritime commerce, settlement of the continent and of the West Indies , and the projection of naval power via the colony's privateers , among other areas. The growth of the British Empire in the 19th century, to its territorial peak in the 1920s, saw Britain acquire nearly one quarter of the world's land mass, including territories with large indigenous populations in Asia and Africa. From

11615-474: The successor to the European Currency Unit (ECU). The notes and coins for the old currencies, however, continued to be used as legal tender until new euro notes and coins were introduced on 1 January 2002. The changeover period during which the former currencies' notes and coins were exchanged for those of the euro lasted about two months, until 28 February 2002. The official date on which

11730-509: The symbol is rendered on computers and typesetting. For a new symbol to be used, its glyphs needs to be added to computer fonts and keyboard mappings already in widespread use, and keyboard layouts need to be altered or shortcuts added to type the new symbol. For example, the European Commission was criticized for not considering how the euro sign would need to be customized to work in different fonts. The original design

11845-462: The territory. Each overseas territory has its own legal system independent of the United Kingdom. The legal system is generally based on English common law , with some distinctions for local circumstances. Each territory has its own attorney general and court system. For the smaller territories, the United Kingdom may appoint a UK-based lawyer or judge to work on legal cases. This is particularly important for cases involving serious crimes and where it

11960-534: The territory. The governor is also responsible for liaising with the UK government, and carrying out any ceremonial duties. A commissioner has the same powers as a governor, but also acts as the head of government. Although the British Government is the national government, much of governance within the territories has been delegated to local government, with all of those that have permanent populations having some degree of representative government (which

12075-571: The titular island), while the smallest by land area is Gibraltar, which lies on the southern tip of the Iberian Peninsula . The United Kingdom participates in the Antarctic Treaty System and, as part of a mutual agreement, the British Antarctic Territory is recognised by four of the six other sovereign nations making claims to Antarctic territory . The 14 British Overseas Territories are: Early colonies, in

12190-515: The world after the United States dollar . As of December 2019, with more than €1.3 trillion in circulation, the euro has one of the highest combined values of banknotes and coins in circulation in the world. The name euro was officially adopted on 16 December 1995 in Madrid . The euro was introduced to world financial markets as an accounting currency on 1 January 1999, replacing

12305-431: The €500 with issuance discontinued as of 27 April 2019. However, both the first and the second series of euro banknotes, including the €500, remain legal tender throughout the euro area. In December 2021, the ECB announced its plans to redesign euro banknotes by 2024. A theme advisory group, made up of one member from each euro area country, was selected to submit theme proposals to the ECB. The proposals will be voted on by

12420-559: Was already two years old. While the conversion rates for the initial eleven currencies were determined only hours before the euro was introduced, the conversion rate for the Greek drachma was fixed several months beforehand. The currency was introduced in non-physical form ( traveller's cheques , electronic transfers, banking, etc.) at midnight on 1 January 1999, when the national currencies of participating countries (the eurozone) ceased to exist independently. Their exchange rates were locked at fixed rates against each other. The euro thus became

12535-402: Was also exceptionally wide. These two factors have led to most type foundries designing customized versions that match the 'look and feel' of the font to which it is to be added, often with reduced width.  & U+FFE6 ￦ FULLWIDTH WON SIGN Some of these symbols may not display correctly. The Unicode CJK Compatibility block contains several square versions of

12650-503: Was an accounting unit used by the EU, based on the currencies of the member states; it was not a currency in its own right. They could not be set earlier, because the ECU depended on the closing exchange rate of the non-euro currencies (principally pound sterling ) that day. The procedure used to fix the conversion rate between the Greek drachma and the euro was different since the euro by then

12765-509: Was created by the Austrian designer Robert Kalina . Notes are issued in €500 , €200 , €100 , €50 , €20 , €10 , and €5 . Each banknote has its own colour and is dedicated to an artistic period of European architecture. The front of the note features windows or gateways while the back has bridges, symbolising links between states in the union and with the future. While the designs are supposed to be devoid of any identifiable characteristics,

12880-433: Was not the case for British Hong Kong ) which have been delegated responsibility for local legislation, irrevocably guaranteed the same rights and representation they would have if born in England, representation in the national Parliament of the United Kingdom has yet to be extended to any overseas territory. The structure of the territorial government appears to be closely correlated to the size and political development of

12995-420: Was shared by residents of the UK proper and residents of overseas territories, although most residents of overseas territories lost their automatic right to live in the UK after the ratification of Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1968 that year unless they were born in the UK proper or had a parent or a grandparent born in the UK. In 1983, CUKC status of residents of overseas territories without the right of abode in

13110-651: Was stated by some Conservative Party backbench MPs that the secret intent of the Conservative government was to restore a single citizenship, with full rights across the United Kingdom and the British Dependent Territories, once Hong Kong and its British Dependent Territories Citizens had been returned to the People's Republic of China in 1997. By that time, the Labour Party was in government with Tony Blair as Prime Minister. Labour had decried discrimination against

13225-1052: Was the only overseas territory that was part of the EU, although it was not part of the European Customs Union, the European Tax Policy, the European Statistics Zone or the Common Agriculture Policy. Gibraltar was not a member of the EU in its own right; it received representation in the European Parliament through its being part of the South West England constituency. Overseas citizens held concurrent European Union citizenship, giving them rights of free movement across all EU member states. The Sovereign Base Areas in Cyprus were never part of

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