ISO 4217 | |
---|---|
Code | XEU |
Unit | |
Symbol | ₠ |
Nickname | ECU |
Demographics | |
Date of introduction | 13 April 1979 |
Replaced | European Unit of Account |
Date of withdrawal | 31 December 1998 |
Replaced by | Euro |
User(s) |
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Valuation | |
Pegged with |
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This infobox shows the latest status before this currency was rendered obsolete. |
The European Currency Unit (French: Unité de compte européenne, Spanish: Unidad Monetaria Europea, German: Europäische Währungseinheit ; ⟨₠⟩, ECU, or XEU) was a unit of account used by the European Economic Community and composed of a basket of member country currencies. The ECU came in to operation on 13 March 1979 and was assigned the ISO 4217 code.[1] The ECU replaced the European Unit of Account (EUA) at parity in 1979, and it was later replaced by the euro (EUR) at parity on 1 January 1999.[1]
As a unit of account, the ECU was not a circulating currency and did not replace or override the value of the currency of EEC member countries. However, it was used to price some international financial transactions and capital transfers.[2]