Conversion rates between national currencies and the euro

 

SUMMARY OF:

Regulation (EC) No 2866/98 – conversion rates between the euro and the currencies of the countries adopting the euro

WHAT IS THE AIM OF THE REGULATION?

• It sets the conversion rates between the euro and the former national currencies of the euro area Member States.
• These rates were adopted on 31 December 1998 when the first 11 European Union (EU) Member States adopted the euro (Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Spain, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal and Finland).

KEY POINTS

• To become a member of the euro area, the third stage in the EU’s economic and monetary union, a Member State must meet certain economic and legal conditions known as convergence criteria. These criteria are designed to ensure that countries can demonstrate stability – within certain defined limits – in prices, in their government’s financial position, in exchange rates and in long-term interest rates.
• The regulation has been amended several times to adopt the conversion rates of new countries joining the euro area:
  • Greece in 2001;
  • Slovenia in 2007;
  • Cyprus and Malta in 2008;
  • Slovakia in 2009;
  • Estonia in 2011;
  • Latvia in 2014;
  • Lithuania in 2015;
  • Croatia in 2023.
• According to Article 140 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the conversion rates between the euro and the currencies of the Member States are set by the Council of the European Union. The Council decides with the unanimity of the euro area countries and the country concerned, acting on a proposal from the European Commission and after consulting the European Central Bank.

The conversion rates are irrevocably fixed.

1 euro =	Exchange rate	Former national currency
	40.34	Belgian francs
	1.96	German marks
	15.65	Estonian kroons
	0.79	Irish pounds
	340.75	Greek drachma
	166.39	Spanish pesetas
	6.56	French francs
	7.53	Croatian kuna
	1 936.27	Italian lire
	0.59	Cyprus pounds
	0.70	Latvian lats
	3.45	Lithuanian litas
	40.34	Luxembourg francs
	0.43	Maltese liras
	2.20	Dutch guilders
	13.76	Austrian schillings
	200.48	Portuguese escudos
	239.64	Slovenian tolars
	30.13	Slovak korunas
	5.95	Finnish marks

FROM WHEN DOES THE REGULATION APPLY?

It has applied since 1 January 1999.

BACKGROUND

For further information, see:

• The euro (European Commission)
• Our money (European Central Bank).

MAIN DOCUMENT

Council Regulation (EC) No 2866/98 of 31 December 1998 on the conversion rates between the euro and the currencies of the Member States adopting the euro (OJ L 359, 31.12.1998, pp. 1–2).

Successive amendments to Regulation (EC) No 2866/98 have been incorporated in the basic text. This consolidated version is of documentary value only.

last update 26.07.2022