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Lithuania to adopt the euro in 2015

Currency, NewsBy SMI 04/06/2014

The European Commission has advised that Lithuania has met the criteria for joining the European single currency, the euro. To be able to adopt the euro, a country has to have government debt below 60% of gross domestic product (GDP), a budget deficit under 3% of GDP, low inflation and interest rates and its own…

Increase in Euro Counterfeit Banknotes

Banknotes, NewsBy SMI 15/01/2014

The European Central Bank (ECB) issued a press release this week confirming the total number of counterfeit euro banknotes which were withdrawn from circulation. During the second half of 2013 the total number of banknotes withdrawn saw an increase of 11.4% compared to the volume removed during the first half of 2013. Though this number…

New Europa €10 banknote announced

Banknotes, NewsBy SMI 13/01/2014

The European Central Bank (ECB) has today issued a press release announcing the new €10 banknote. The new banknote, part of the recently released Europa series, will begin to circulate on the 23rd September 2014, allowing retailers and other cash handlers time to prepare for its release into circulation. The new banknote design will gradually…

Latvia Joins Euro

Currency, NewsBy SMI 01/01/2014

At midnight on the 1st January 2014, Latvia became the 18th country to join the euro currency. The changeover has caused a mixture of emotions, with some opinion polls suggesting almost 60% of the population did not want to move to the euro currency. However, business owners as well as the government believe it will…

ECB launches €10 banknote competition

Banknotes, NewsBy SMI 18/12/2013

The European Central Bank (ECB) is due to unveil the new €10 banknote in January 2014 and is expected to begin circulating later in the year. To promote the banknote’s security features, the ECB is holding an online competition for all European Union (EU) residents over 18 years old. Participants need to guess 4 of…

ECB to introduce new €10 banknote

Banknotes, NewsBy SMI 28/11/2013

The European Central Bank (ECB) announced that a new Europa series €10 banknote will be unveiled on January 13, 2014 and issued later in the year. The Partnership Program, held by the ECB and the national Central Banks (NCB) in the Euro area on November 26, 2013, aimed to help banknote equipment manufacturers and suppliers,…

Decline in ECB Euro Counterfeit Statistics

Banknotes, Currency, NewsBy SMI 17/07/2012

The counterfeit statistics for the first half of 2012 have now been released by the European Central Bank (ECB). The total number of counterfeit euro banknotes which were removed from circulation during the 6 months from January to June 2012 totalled 251,000, a decrease of 15.2% compared to the same period in 2011. However, when comparing the number of…

Euro currency stability questioned again

Currency, NewsBy SMI 18/04/2012

As the markets have calmed over the past months, the rumours of a collapsing Euro became only whispers. However the Euro once again appears to become more fragile, with recent turmoil in the Spanish markets and money being moved across borders in all regions. Despite the markets calming, the trend over the past few months…