The Official Euro Sign

8/2/2019 The Official Euro Sign

1/4

The official euro sign () is based on the Greek letter epsilon (), which symbolizes the

cradle of European civilization. Also the sign is similar to the letter E, the first letter of theword 'Europe'.The two parallel lines represent the stability of the euro. It is a graphic symbol used also byother major international currencies such the US dollar ($), the Japanese yen () and the

pound sterling ().

A symbol for Europe

Inspiration for the symbol itself came from the Greek epsilon () a reference to thecradle of European civilization and the first letter of the word Europe, crossed by twoparallel lines to certify the stability of the euro.

The euro symbol was created by the European Commission according to three criteria:

that it should be a highly recognizable symbol of Europe that it should have a visual link with existing well-known currency symbols that it should be aesthetically pleasing and easy to write by hand.

The copyright for the euro symbol belongs to the European Community, represented by theEuropean Commission, which encourages its use as a currency designator in a wide sense.However, the Commission is opposed to the registration of the symbol as part of atrademark, since this could restrict the appropriate use of the euro symbol by other parties.

Notwithstanding this general principle, where logos containing the euro symbol aresufficiently creative and different from the official euro symbol, the Office for

Harmonization in the Internal Market (Trademarks and Designs) has, on occasion, agreedto register these as trademarks.

The success of the euro as a currency worldwide owes a small debt to the unique andmemorable symbol of the currency. People and organizations are encouraged to use thename and symbol to spread the word, so to speak in their day-to-day business.

The euro 'rules'

The Heads of State and Government meeting in Madrid in 1995 chose the name euro as it

symbolizes Europe. There are certain rules on the use of the term 'euro':

The name of the single currency must be the same in all the official languages of theEU, taking into account the different alphabets. This is to ensure consistency and toavoid confusion in the single market.

In all EU legal texts, the nominative singular spelling must be 'euro' in all languages('' in Greek alphabet; '' in Cyrillic alphabet). Plural forms and declensionsare accepted as long as they do not change the 'eur-' root.


2/4

In documents other than EU legal texts, including national legislation, otherspellings are accepted according to the various grammatical rules used in eachlanguage.

The definition of the name cent (in Greek, ''; in Bulgarian ' ') does notprevent the use of variants of this term in common usage in the Member States.

The ISO code for the euro is EUR, to be used with figures referring to amounts ineuro when the euro symbol is not used.

On many computers the euro symbol can be obtained with the ++e keystrokes.

The term euro area is the official term in English for the group of countries that haveadopted the euro as their single currency. All other terms, such as euroland andeurozone, are discouraged in the official language style guide.

G8:

The Group of Eight(G8) is a forum for the governments of eight of the world's largesteconomies. The forum originated with a 1975 summit hosted by France that broughttogether representatives of six governments:France,Germany,Italy,Japan, theUnitedKingdom, and theUnited States, thus leading to the name Group of Six or G6. The summitbecame known as the Group of Seven or G7 the following year with the addition ofCanada.In 1997,Russiawas added to group which then became known as the G8.[1]TheEuropeanUnionis represented within the G8 but cannot host or chair summits.[2]

"G8" can refer to the member states in aggregate or to the annualsummit meetingof theG8heads of government. The former term, G6, is now frequently applied to thesix mostpopulous countries within the European Union. G8 ministers also meet throughout theyear, such as the G7/8 finance ministers (who meet four times a year), G8 foreignministers, or G8 environment ministers.

Collectively, the G8 nations comprise53.0% of global nominal GDPand42.5% of globalGDP (PPP). Each calendar year, the responsibility of hosting the G8 rotates through themember states in the following order: France, United States, United Kingdom, Russia,Germany, Japan, Italy, and Canada. The holder of thepresidencysets the agenda, hosts thesummit for that year, and determines which ministerial meetings will take place. Lately,both France and the United Kingdom have expressed a desire to expand the group toinclude five developing countries, referred to as the Outreach Five (O5) or the PlusFive:Brazil,People's Republic of China,India,Mexico, andSouth Africa. These countrieshave participated as guests in previous meetings, which are sometimes calledG8+5.

With theG-20 major economiesgrowing in stature since the2008 Washington summit,world leaders from the group announced at theirPittsburgh summiton September 25,2009, that the group will replace the G8 as the main economic council of wealthy nations.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdomhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdomhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdomhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdomhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G8#cite_note-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G8#cite_note-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G8#cite_note-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Unionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Unionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Unionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Unionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G8#cite_note-EU_info-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G8#cite_note-EU_info-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G8#cite_note-EU_info-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summit_meetinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summit_meetinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summit_meetinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heads_of_governmenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heads_of_governmenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heads_of_governmenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G6_(EU)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G6_(EU)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G6_(EU)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G6_(EU)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidencyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidencyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidencyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Republic_of_Chinahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Republic_of_Chinahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Republic_of_Chinahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexicohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexicohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexicohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G8%2B5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G8%2B5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G8%2B5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G-20_major_economieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G-20_major_economieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G-20_major_economieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_G-20_Washington_summithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_G-20_Washington_summithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_G-20_Washington_summithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_G-20_Pittsburgh_summithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_G-20_Pittsburgh_summithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_G-20_Pittsburgh_summithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2009_G-20_Pittsburgh_summithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2008_G-20_Washington_summithttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G-20_major_economieshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G8%2B5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexicohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Republic_of_Chinahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brazilhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presidencyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(PPP)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G6_(EU)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G6_(EU)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heads_of_governmenthttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summit_meetinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G8#cite_note-EU_info-1http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Unionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Unionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G8#cite_note-0http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russiahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdomhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdomhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanyhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/France


3/4

Member facts

All eight of the G8 countries are amongst the thirteen top-ranked leading exportcountries.[46]Six of the G8 countries are among the top 10 with the largestgoldreserves(USA, Germany, Italy, France, Russia and Japan.) Some of the world's 18largestmajor stock exchangesby traded value and market capitalization are in G8countries (U.S., Japan, UK, Canada, Germany, Russia.) G8 countries are represented in thetop eleven economies (bynominal GDP) of the world, according to latest (2010 data)International Monetary Fund's statistics. Also, five countries of the G8 havenominal GDPper capitaabove US$40,000 (USA, Canada, Japan, France, Germany), from the same 2010IMF data. However, only four of the G8 nations have asovereign wealth fund, administeredby either a national or a state/provincial government (Russia, USA, France,Canada).[47]Along with that, the G8 are ranked in the top thirty of nations with largeamounts offoreign-exchange reservesin theircentral banks. The G8 nations also havesome of the world's largest, most technologically advanced, and most powerful militaries.Four of the G8 nations have nuclear weapons in operation (France, Russia, UK,

USA),[48][49]

three others have the capability to rapidly produce nuclear warheads (Canada,Germany, Japan), and some have nuclear weapons sharing programs (Canada, Germany,Italy).

A few of the world's 10largest oil producers(Russia, USA, and Canada) and the countrieswith the third and eighth largestoil reserves(Canada and Russia respectively) are in theG8. Seven of the nine largestnuclear energy producersare in the G8 (USA, France, Japan,Russia, Germany, Canada, UK), even though Germany will wean itself from nuclear powerby 2022. The 7 largest donors to theUN budgetfor the 2011 annual fiscal year are in the G8(U.S., Japan, Germany, UK, France, Italy, Canada.) The G8 and theBRICcountries makes upalmost all of the 15-nation"trillion dollar club of nations."All of the G8 andG8+5countries(minusSouth Africa) are in the top twenty nations that are ranked by the amount of voting

power andspecial drawing rights(SDRs) in theIMF organization.

What is the G8?

The G7/8 Summit has consistently dealt with macroeconomic management, internationaltrade, and relations with developing countries. Questions of East-West economic relations,energy, and terrorism have also been of recurrent concern. From this initial foundation thesummit agenda has broadened considerably to include microeconomic issues such asemployment and the information highway, transnational issues such as the environment,crime and drugs, and a host of political-security issues ranging from human rights throughregional security to arms control.

The responsibility of host rotates throughout the summit cycle at the end of the calendaryear, as follows: France, United States, United Kingdom, Russia (as of 2006), Germany,Japan, Italy and Canada. Throughout the year, the leaders' personal representatives known as sherpas meet regularly to discuss the agenda and monitor progress.

In addition, the G7/8 has developed a network of supportingministerial meetings, whichallow ministers to meet regularly throughout the year in order to continue the work set out
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G8#cite_note-45http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G8#cite_note-45http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G8#cite_note-45http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_reservehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_reservehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_reservehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_reservehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_stock_exchangeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_stock_exchangeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_stock_exchangeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)_per_capitahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)_per_capitahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)_per_capitahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)_per_capitahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_wealth_fundhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_wealth_fundhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_wealth_fundhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G8#cite_note-46http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G8#cite_note-46http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G8#cite_note-46http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_foreign-exchange_reserveshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_foreign-exchange_reserveshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_foreign-exchange_reserveshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_bankhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_bankhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_bankhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G8#cite_note-47http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G8#cite_note-47http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G8#cite_note-47http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_oil_productionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_oil_productionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_oil_productionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_reserves#Estimated_reserves_by_countryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_reserves#Estimated_reserves_by_countryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_reserves#Estimated_reserves_by_countryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_by_country#Nuclear_power_output_in_megawattshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_by_country#Nuclear_power_output_in_megawattshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_by_country#Nuclear_power_output_in_megawattshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_fundinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_fundinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_fundinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BRIChttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BRIChttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BRIChttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trillion_dollar_clubhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trillion_dollar_clubhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trillion_dollar_clubhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G8%2B5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G8%2B5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G8%2B5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_drawing_rightshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_drawing_rightshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_drawing_rightshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Monetary_Fund#Member_stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Monetary_Fund#Member_stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Monetary_Fund#Member_stateshttp://www.g8.utoronto.ca/meetings.htmlhttp://www.g8.utoronto.ca/meetings.htmlhttp://www.g8.utoronto.ca/meetings.htmlhttp://www.g8.utoronto.ca/meetings.htmlhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Monetary_Fund#Member_stateshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_drawing_rightshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Africahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G8%2B5http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trillion_dollar_clubhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BRIChttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Nations_fundinghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_power_by_country#Nuclear_power_output_in_megawattshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oil_reserves#Estimated_reserves_by_countryhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_oil_productionhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G8#cite_note-47http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G8#cite_note-47http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Central_bankhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_foreign-exchange_reserveshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G8#cite_note-46http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sovereign_wealth_fundhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)_per_capitahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)_per_capitahttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal)http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_stock_exchangeshttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_reservehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_reservehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G8#cite_note-45


4/4

at each summit; these include the meetings of the finance ministers, foreign ministers andenvironment ministers, among others. G7/8 ministers andofficialsalso meet on an ad hocbasis to deal with pressing issues, such a terrorism, energy, and development; from time totime the leaders also create task forces or working groups to focus intensively on certainissues of concern, such as a drug-related money laundering, nuclear safety, and

transnational organized crime.

The G7/8 provides an important occasion for busy leaders to discuss major, often complexinternational issues, and to develop the personal relations that help them respond ineffective collective fashion to sudden crises or shocks. The summit also gives direction tothe international community by setting priorities, defining new issues and providingguidance to established international organizations. At times it arrives at decisions thataddress pressing problems or shape international order more generally.

The summit members comply modestly with the decisions and consensus generated by andcodified at their annual meeting. Compliance is particularly high in regard to agreements

on international trade and energy, and on the part of Britain, Canada, and Germany (foranalysis of compliance, seeAnalytical Studies). Summit decisions often create and buildinternational regimes to deal with new international challenges, and catalyze, revitalizeand reform existing international institutions.

In recognition of its centrality in the process of global governance, the summit has alwaysattracted the attention of thousands of journalists at each leaders' meeting, and of anumber of countries seeking admittance to this exclusive and powerful club. It has alsobecome a prime occasion for non-governmental and civil society organizations to advocateon behalf of their concerns. The annual meeting has been an opportunity for anti-globalization demonstrations since the Birmingham Summit in 1998; the protests turned

violent in 2001 at the Genoa Summit, resulting in the death of a protestor.
http://www.g8.utoronto.ca/meetings-official.htmlhttp://www.g8.utoronto.ca/meetings-official.htmlhttp://www.g8.utoronto.ca/meetings-official.htmlhttp://www.g8.utoronto.ca/evaluations/index.htmlhttp://www.g8.utoronto.ca/evaluations/index.htmlhttp://www.g8.utoronto.ca/evaluations/index.htmlhttp://www.g8.utoronto.ca/evaluations/index.htmlhttp://www.g8.utoronto.ca/meetings-official.html

Documents

The Official Euro Sign