# How the Euro Works > On 29 October 2026 Christine Lagarde said she will step down as President of the European Central Bank on 7 February 2027. This film explains the currency she leaves behind: how the Maastricht Treaty of 1992 planned a single currency and set the entrance test, how the euro was born as book money in 1999 and as notes and coins in 2002, how it grew from eleven countries to twenty-one, how the ECB sets one interest rate and how its Governing Council votes, why one rate can strain countries in different situations, how the debt crisis of 2010 to 2012 was fought, how the euro became the world's second reserve currency, and how the next president will be chosen. Interactive film: https://www.planetpast.com/stories/how-the-euro-works/ Publisher: PlanetPast (https://www.planetpast.com/) · d => T('readPublished', l, { d: dateIn(d, l) }) 2026-10-30 · Society, History ## Prologue ### One money, twenty-one countries *Society · History* How the euro was built, and how it works. Twenty-one countries and about three hundred and sixty million people share one money, the euro, and one interest rate, set in Frankfurt. On the twenty-ninth of October 2026, the woman who leads that decision, Christine Lagarde, said she will step down as president of the European Central Bank on the seventh of February 2027, months before her term ends. How can one money, and one interest rate, serve so many different economies? This film shows how the euro was built, how it works, and where it comes under strain. ![A glass tower beside the river Main at dusk. AI-generated still.](https://assets.planetpast.com/a/d7/d726f93ca20f1d54.jpg) - **21**: member countries since 1 Jan 2026 - **~360 million**: people, 1 Jan 2026 (Eurostat figure) - **7 Feb 2027**: Lagarde’s last day (ECB) - **Oct 2027**: when her term was due to end (RTÉ) - Why Europe made one money - The entrance test - One rate for all, and who votes - The crisis, and what comes next Prologue #### An early exit European Central Bank: on 29 October 2026 President Christine Lagarde informed the Governing Council and the President of the European Council, António Costa, that she will step down on 7 February 2027; her successor is appointed under Article 283(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. RTÉ, citing Reuters: her term was due to end in October 2027; at the time of the announcement the ECB’s deposit rate stood at 2.5%. The euro area’s population, about 360 million on 1 January 2026, is the Eurostat figure quoted by Wikipedia’s Eurozone article. The map is a simplified teaching model: borders are smoothed and very small states are shown as dots. Heights and colours mark membership, not size or wealth. Sources: [European Central Bank press release (29 Oct 2026): ECB President Lagarde to step down on 7 February 2027](https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/pr/date/2026/html/ecb.pr261029~abbb6dc64b.en.html); [RTÉ News (29 Oct 2026): Lagarde announces resignation after months of speculation](https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2026/1029/1597194-christine-lagarde/); [France 24 (29 Oct 2026): ECB chief Lagarde to step down early, triggering succession race](https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20261029-ecb-chief-lagarde-to-step-down-early-triggering-succession-race); [Wikipedia: Eurozone (members, adoption dates, non-EU users)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurozone) ## Chapter I · Many moneys ### Many moneys *Chapter I* Francs, marks, lira and a plan. Until 1999, almost every country in Europe had its own money: the French franc, the German mark, the Italian lira, the Spanish peseta, the Dutch guilder. Every trip or deal across a border meant changing money, and the rates between those currencies could swing, which made prices and profits harder to plan. On the seventh of February 1992, the twelve members of the European Community signed the Maastricht Treaty. It provided for a central banking system and a common currency. ![A currency exchange booth at a 1990s railway station. AI-generated still.](https://assets.planetpast.com/a/25/253afea4746cf046.jpg) - Germany: mark - France: franc - Italy: lira - Spain: peseta · Netherlands: guilder - Greece: drachma · Ireland: pound - Dec 1991: Leaders agree the text in Maastricht - 7 Feb 1992: Signed - 1 Nov 1993: Enters into force Chapter I · Many moneys #### A treaty for one money European Parliament: the Treaty on European Union was signed in Maastricht on 7 February 1992 and entered into force on 1 November 1993. Britannica: heads of government approved it in December 1991, and it provided for a central banking system and a common currency, the euro; Danish voters first rejected it before approving a slightly modified version. Wikipedia’s Eurozone article lists the currencies each member replaced. Try it: switch the map between the old currencies and the euro. The map is a simplified teaching model: borders are smoothed and very small states are shown as dots. Heights and colours mark membership, not size or wealth. Sources: [European Parliament: the Maastricht Treaty (Treaty on European Union)](https://www.europarl.europa.eu/about-parliament/en/in-the-past/the-parliament-and-the-treaties/maastricht-treaty); [Encyclopaedia Britannica: Maastricht Treaty](https://WWW.Britannica.com/event/Maastricht-Treaty); [Wikipedia: Eurozone (members, adoption dates, non-EU users)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurozone) ### To join, a country has to pass a test, the convergence criteria, set out in the treaty and still in force today. Its inflation can be at most one and a half percentage points above the average of the three countries with the lowest inflation, and its long-term interest rate at most two points above theirs. Its currency must spend two years in ERM II, a waiting room where it is tied to the euro within a band, without being devalued. And its public finances must be sound. Measured against GDP, the value of everything the country produces in a year, the reference values are a yearly government deficit of three percent, and total debt of sixty percent. Why sixty? Economists later noted it was close to the average debt of the twelve countries in the late 1980s. ![A treaty hall before a signing. AI-generated still.](https://assets.planetpast.com/a/7e/7ef62126bc045bcd.jpg) - Inflation: ≤ 1.5 points above the best three’s average - Long-term rate: ≤ 2 points above theirs - Two calm years in ERM II - Sound public finances - **2 years**: tied to the euro, without devaluing - **1**: currency in ERM II today: the Danish krone - **3%**: of GDP: government deficit - **60%**: of GDP: government debt ![With about 5% yearly growth in nominal GDP, a 3% deficit holds debt steady at 60% (VoxEU). AI-generated still.](https://assets.planetpast.com/a/88/882596a158acbda2.jpg) Chapter I · Many moneys #### The convergence criteria European Commission: average inflation no more than 1.5 percentage points above the three best-performing member states; long-term interest rate no more than 2 points above theirs; at least two years in ERM II without severe tensions or devaluation; and the country must not be under the excessive deficit procedure. VoxEU: the 3% deficit and 60% debt reference values are set in a protocol annexed to the treaty, not its main text; 60% was close to the twelve countries’ average debt ratio in the five years to 1989, and with about 5% nominal growth a 3% deficit keeps debt stable at 60%. The map is a simplified teaching model: borders are smoothed and very small states are shown as dots. Heights and colours mark membership, not size or wealth. Sources: [European Commission: convergence criteria for joining the euro](https://economy-finance.ec.europa.eu/euro/enlargement-euro-area/convergence-criteria-joining_en); [CEPR VoxEU: the Maastricht values, where 3% and 60% came from](https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/maastricht-values) ## Chapter II · Birth of the euro ### Birth of the euro *Chapter II* First in accounts, then in pockets. The European Central Bank was set up in Frankfurt on the first of June 1998. On the last day of that year, the exchange rates of eleven countries' currencies were fixed to the euro, for good. On the first of January 1999 the euro was born, but only as book money: in bank accounts, prices and markets. Wallets still held francs and marks. Greece joined on the first of January 2001, making twelve. The bank's first president was Wim Duisenberg, a former head of the Dutch central bank. - **11**: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain ![A trading room on the euro’s first morning. AI-generated still.](https://assets.planetpast.com/a/75/75c462a15a4e66f8.jpg) - 1 Jun 1998: ECB set up in Frankfurt - 31 Dec 1998: Exchange rates fixed for good - 1 Jan 1999: Euro born as book money - 1 Jan 2001: Greece joins Chapter II · Birth of the euro #### Book money first Banco de España: irrevocable exchange rates were fixed on 31 December 1998; on 1 January 1999 the euro came into being and the Eurosystem (the ECB and the national central banks of the euro area) was set up, with the euro existing only as book money during the transition; Greece joined on 1 January 2001. Wikipedia’s ECB article gives 1 June 1998 as the date the ECB was established, in Frankfurt, with Wim Duisenberg as its first president. The map is a simplified teaching model: borders are smoothed and very small states are shown as dots. Heights and colours mark membership, not size or wealth. Sources: [Banco de España: the introduction of the euro](https://www.bde.es/wbe/en/sobre-banco/actividad-europea/eurosistema-sebc/historia-eurosistema/euro/introduccion-euro/); [Wikipedia: European Central Bank](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Central_Bank); [Wikipedia: Eurozone (members, adoption dates, non-EU users)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurozone) ### On the first of January 2002, euro notes and coins arrived. By the end of February the old money had everywhere stopped being legal tender, and more than three hundred million people in twelve countries paid in euros. There are eight coins, from one cent to two euros. One face is common to all, designed by Luc Luycx of the Royal Belgian Mint. The other face is national: Ireland's shows a harp. Notes look the same everywhere, from five to two hundred euros; the five-hundred is no longer made, though it is still legal tender. Only the ECB can authorise notes, while each country mints coins in amounts the ECB approves. - 1 Jan 2002: Notes and coins enter circulation - 28 Feb 2002: Old notes and coins no longer legal tender ![A press striking blank discs into coins. AI-generated still.](https://assets.planetpast.com/a/2d/2d16207c70f262bf.jpg) - **8**: coins: 1c, 2c, 5c, 10c, 20c, 50c, €1, €2 - **2**: faces: one common, one national - €5, €10, €20, €50, €100, €200 - Series completed on 28 May 2019 - The €500 is no longer produced, but stays legal tender Chapter II · Birth of the euro #### Coins and notes Banco de España: euro banknotes and coins entered circulation on 1 January 2002; national notes and coins stopped being legal tender on 28 February 2002, when the euro was the currency of over 300 million citizens in twelve countries. Central Bank of Ireland: there are eight euro coins; the common side, designed by Luc Luycx of the Royal Belgian Mint, shows a map of Europe (on the 1c, 2c and 5c, Europe in relation to Africa and Asia); Ireland’s national side shows a Celtic harp. Wikipedia (ECB): the ECB has the exclusive right to authorise banknotes, and member states issue coins in volumes the ECB approves. ECB: the Europa series runs from €5 to €200; the €500 is no longer produced but remains legal tender. Try it: turn the coin. It is a simplified model, not a copy of a real coin design. Sources: [Banco de España: the introduction of the euro](https://www.bde.es/wbe/en/sobre-banco/actividad-europea/eurosistema-sebc/historia-eurosistema/euro/introduccion-euro/); [Central Bank of Ireland: euro coins](https://centralbank.ie/consumer-hub/notes-and-coins/euro-coins); [Wikipedia: European Central Bank](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Central_Bank); [European Central Bank: the Europa series of euro banknotes](https://www.ecb.europa.eu/euro/banknotes/europa/html/index.en.html) ## Chapter III · The circle widens ### The circle widens *Chapter III* Nine more countries in nineteen years. Then the circle widened. Slovenia joined in 2007, Cyprus and Malta in 2008, Slovakia in 2009, and Estonia in 2011. Latvia followed in 2014 and Lithuania in 2015. Croatia joined in 2023, and Bulgaria, an EU member since 2007, became the twenty-first on the first of January 2026. Six European Union countries still keep their own money, and Denmark has a legal opt-out. Outside the union, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican use the euro by agreement, while Kosovo and Montenegro adopted it on their own. - 1999: The first eleven - 2001: Greece - 2007–2009: Slovenia, Cyprus, Malta, Slovakia - 2011–2015: Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania - 2023: Croatia - 2026: Bulgaria, the 21st ![An old customs booth beside an open road. AI-generated still.](https://assets.planetpast.com/a/5a/5af3ad87dea29736.jpg) - EU, not in the euro: Czechia, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Sweden - By agreement: Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, Vatican City - On their own: Kosovo, Montenegro - **27**: EU members - **21**: of them use the euro - **6**: main places outside the EU use it too Chapter III · The circle widens #### Twenty-one members Wikipedia (Eurozone): adoption years are Slovenia 2007, Cyprus and Malta 2008, Slovakia 2009, Estonia 2011, Latvia 2014, Lithuania 2015, Croatia 2023 and Bulgaria 2026. Banque de France: Bulgaria, an EU member since 2007, became the 21st member of the euro area on 1 January 2026. Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City use the euro under monetary agreements and issue their own coins but have no seat in euro institutions; Kosovo and Montenegro adopted it unilaterally. Denmark has an opt-out negotiated at Maastricht, and its central bank is the only one currently in ERM II. Try it: step through the years and watch members rise. The map is a simplified teaching model: borders are smoothed and very small states are shown as dots. Heights and colours mark membership, not size or wealth. Sources: [Wikipedia: Eurozone (members, adoption dates, non-EU users)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurozone); [Banque de France: Bulgaria, the 21st member of the euro area in 2026](https://www.banque-france.fr/en/news/21st-member-euro-area-2026-bulgaria) ## Chapter IV · One interest rate ### One interest rate *Chapter IV* One bank system, one target. Inside the euro area there is one central bank system, the Eurosystem: the ECB in Frankfurt, working with the national central banks. Those still exist, but they no longer set their own interest rates. Its main job, set by treaty, is price stability. Since 2021 it aims for inflation of two percent over the medium term, and treats a miss above or below as equally unwelcome. Its main tool is the interest rate it pays banks on their deposits. In June 2026 it raised that rate to two and a quarter percent; after a further rise, it stood at two and a half by late October. > “The primary objective … shall be to maintain price stability.” (Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union) - **2%**: inflation, medium term, symmetric (since 2021) - **“below, but close to, 2%”**: the definition from 2003 to 2021 - from 17 Jun 2026: 2.25% - late Oct 2026 (RTÉ): 2.5% - Banks earn more by parking money at the ECB - So loans to firms and families cost more - Borrowing and spending slow - Price rises ease, with a delay Chapter IV · One interest rate #### One target, one tool Wikipedia (ECB), quoting Article 127(1) TFEU: the primary objective of the Eurosystem is to maintain price stability; the treaties do not say how. Bank of Finland: the 2021 strategy review set a symmetric 2% target over the medium term, replacing the 2003 definition “below, but close to, two per cent”. Banco de España: the ECB raised its three key rates by 25 basis points from 17 June 2026, taking the deposit facility rate to 2.25%. RTÉ: at the end of October 2026 the deposit rate stood at 2.5%. The step-by-step list is a simplified textbook description of how a rate change reaches the economy. PlanetPast’s film on central banks and inflation explains the rate tool in more depth. The map is a simplified teaching model: borders are smoothed and very small states are shown as dots. Heights and colours mark membership, not size or wealth. Sources: [Wikipedia: European Central Bank](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Central_Bank); [Bank of Finland Bulletin (2021): the ECB revised its monetary policy strategy, what changed?](https://bofbulletin.fi/en/2021/4/ecb-revised-its-monetary-policy-strategy-whats-changed); [Banco de España: the ECB raises rates by 25 basis points (June 2026)](https://www.bde.es/wbe/en/noticias-eventos/actualidad-bce/decisiones-politica-monetaria/bce-tipos-junio26.html); [RTÉ News (29 Oct 2026): Lagarde announces resignation after months of speculation](https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2026/1029/1597194-christine-lagarde/) ### Rates are decided by the Governing Council: the ECB's six-member Executive Board, which is the president, the vice-president and four others, plus the governors of the twenty-one national central banks. With so many members, votes rotate. Since 2015 the governors share fifteen votes: the five biggest economies take turns with four of them, the other countries share eleven. The board's six votes are permanent. A governor without a vote that month still sits at the table and speaks. Press the button to move to the next month. - **6**: Executive Board members - **21**: national central bank governors - **27**: members in all - Executive Board, permanent: 6 - 5 largest: DE, FR, IT, ES, NL: 4 - 16 other governors: 11 - Started when Lithuania joined, 1 Jan 2015 - Votes change hands every month - Capital and profit decisions use weighted votes Chapter IV · One interest rate #### Who votes Wikipedia (ECB): the Governing Council is made up of the six Executive Board members and the governors of the euro area’s national central banks (21 in 2026); board members serve non-renewable eight-year terms. Deutsche Bundesbank: rotation began when Lithuania joined on 1 January 2015, taking the number of governors above 18. With 19 to 21 members there are two groups: Germany, France, Italy, Spain and the Netherlands share four votes, the others share eleven, rotating monthly; the six board members keep permanent votes, for 21 in total. At 22 members a three-group system begins. Governors without a vote still attend and speak. Try it: the seats show who votes this month. The order shown is a simplified illustration, not the ECB’s actual calendar. Sources: [Wikipedia: European Central Bank](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Central_Bank); [Deutsche Bundesbank: how voting rights rotate on the ECB Governing Council](https://www.bundesbank.de/en/tasks/topics/how-voting-rights-rotate-on-the-ecb-governing-council-654426) ## Chapter V · One size for all ### One size for all *Chapter V* What a country gives up. Sharing money has a cost. In 1961 the economist Robert Mundell asked when regions should share a currency. His answer became the theory of optimum currency areas. The danger is an asymmetric shock: a boom in one country and a slump in another. With its own money, each could set its own interest rate, or let its exchange rate move. In the euro, both get the same rate: perhaps too low for one and too high for the other. Workers moving to where the jobs are can soften the blow, but many economists have argued that in Europe they move too little. - **1961**: “A Theory of Optimum Currency Areas” - **1999**: Nobel Prize in Economics ![Cranes on one side, shuttered shops on the other. AI-generated still.](https://assets.planetpast.com/a/03/03f9b45e17fb25ba.jpg) - Workers who can move - Capital that can move - Varied exports - Open, connected economies ![A container port. Mundell weighed the lost exchange rate against cheaper trade in one money. AI-generated still.](https://assets.planetpast.com/a/f8/f87fc341e5cd84b4.jpg) Chapter V · One size for all #### Optimum currency areas IMF (1999): Mundell’s 1961 paper “A Theory of Optimum Currency Areas” asked when regions, rather than nations, should share a currency, weighing lower transaction costs against the loss of the exchange rate as a way to absorb asymmetric shocks; his criteria include labour and capital mobility, varied exports and openness. Many economists used the framework to argue that Europe was not an optimum currency area because labour mobility is limited; Mundell himself, who won the 1999 Nobel Prize, supported a European currency and is called a “godfather” of the euro. Try it: compare the two countries with their own money and with a shared rate. Countries A and B and their numbers are invented for illustration; the “rate each would want” follows a simple rule of thumb, not an ECB model. Sources: [IMF (1999): Mundell, the euro and optimum currency areas](https://www.imf.org/external/np/vc/1999/121399.htm) ### The strain showed after the 2008 financial crisis. In May 2010 Greece received the first rescue: a hundred and ten billion euros in loans, from euro countries and the International Monetary Fund. The loans came with strict conditions, spending cuts and reforms. The recession that followed was deeper than expected, and in 2013 the IMF's own review said the programme had not restored growth as it set out to. Ireland, Portugal, Spain's banks and Cyprus also got help, first from a temporary fund set up in 2010, then from a permanent one opened in October 2012, the European Stability Mechanism. Greece received another two hundred and four billion euros from the two. On the twenty-sixth of July 2012, in London, the ECB's president Mario Draghi said the bank was ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro. Spanish and Italian borrowing costs fell sharply, and the euro area did not lose a single member. ![A quiet street below the Acropolis. AI-generated still.](https://assets.planetpast.com/a/d0/d0ca3ec24f51a6cb.jpg) - Deficit below 3% of GDP by 2014 - Public-sector pay cut, including the 13th and 14th monthly salaries - IMF, 2013: growth was not restored as planned - Greece, 2012–2018 (two programmes): 203.7 - Spain’s banks, 2012–2013: 41.3 - Portugal, 2011–2014: 26 - Ireland, 2010–2013: 17.7 - Cyprus, 2013–2016: 6.3 > “Within our mandate, the ECB is ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro. And believe me, it will be enough.” (Mario Draghi, ECB President 2011–2019) Chapter V · One size for all #### Rescues and a promise Wikipedia (First Economic Adjustment Programme for Greece): agreed on 1–2 May 2010 and signed on 3 May, it totalled €110 billion, €80 billion in bilateral loans from euro area countries and €30 billion from the IMF. European Stability Mechanism: the EFSF and ESM disbursed €17.7 billion to Ireland (programme from December 2010), €26 billion to Portugal (2011–2014), €141.8 billion to Greece (2012–2015) and €61.9 billion (2015–2018), €41.3 billion to recapitalise Spain’s banks (2012–2013) and €6.3 billion to Cyprus (2013–2016). Wikipedia also lists the programme’s conditions, including a deficit below 3% of GDP by 2014 and an end to the 13th and 14th monthly salaries of civil servants. CNN Money: in a 2013 review the IMF said its growth assumptions had been too optimistic, the recession deeper than expected, and that the programme “did not restore growth and regain market access as it set out to do”, while defending its decision to take part. ESM: the ESM was inaugurated on 8 October 2012. CNBC: Mario Draghi made the “whatever it takes” statement on 26 July 2012 at the Global Investment Conference in London, after which Spanish and Italian bond yields fell sharply. The map marks the countries that received EFSF or ESM programmes, with their start years. The map is a simplified teaching model: borders are smoothed and very small states are shown as dots. Heights and colours mark membership, not size or wealth. Sources: [Wikipedia: First Economic Adjustment Programme for Greece (May 2010)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Economic_Adjustment_Programme_for_Greece); [CNN Money (2013): the IMF’s own review of the 2010 Greek rescue](https://money.cnn.com/2013/06/06/news/economy/imf-greece/index.html); [European Stability Mechanism: financial assistance programmes](https://www.esm.europa.eu/financial-assistance); [European Stability Mechanism (8 Oct 2012): the ESM is inaugurated](https://www.esm.europa.eu/press-releases/european-stability-mechanism-esm-inaugurated); [CNBC: Draghi’s “whatever it takes”, 26 July 2012, London](https://www.cnbc.com/2013/07/25/draghis-most-memorable-moments.html); [Wikipedia: Eurozone (members, adoption dates, non-EU users)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurozone) ## Chapter VI · A world currency ### A world currency *Chapter VI* Second, and still far behind. The euro is now the world's second currency. Central banks keep about a fifth of their foreign-exchange reserves in euros, according to the ECB's report of June 2026. The US dollar still dominates, at fifty-seven percent, and the euro's share slipped half a point last year. Yet last year more international debt was sold in euros than in any year since the currency began. ![A central bank vault. AI-generated still.](https://assets.planetpast.com/a/94/9473d19e8d38a28c.jpg) - US dollar: 57% - Euro: 20.2% - **> $1.1 trillion**: international issuance, the highest since the euro began - **≈ 20%**: the euro’s share across a broad set of international indicators (ECB) Chapter VI · A world currency #### The euro abroad Kitco, reporting Reuters on the ECB’s annual report on the international role of the euro (2 June 2026): the euro’s share of global foreign-exchange reserves was 20.2%, down 0.5 percentage points, against 57% for the US dollar; across a broad set of indicators the euro’s share was about 20%; euro-denominated international debt issuance was over $1.1 trillion the previous year, the highest since the currency was created. The 3D bars are drawn to scale from the two shares. Sources: [Kitco / Reuters (2 Jun 2026): ECB report on the international role of the euro](https://www.kitco.com/news/off-the-wire/2026-06-02/euro-fails-nab-big-market-share-dollar-despite-erratic-us-policy) ## Chapter VII · Who leads next ### Who leads next *Chapter VII* One seat, twenty-one votes. Now the euro needs a new chief. ECB presidents serve a single eight-year term. Lagarde, a former French finance minister and head of the IMF, took office in November 2019. Euro-area governments propose candidates, and the Eurogroup, their finance ministers, agrees on one. After hearing the European Parliament and the ECB, the leaders of the euro-area countries appoint. It takes at least sixteen of the twenty-one countries, with sixty-five percent of the population. Reports name two former central bank governors as front-runners: Klaas Knot of the Netherlands and Pablo Hernández de Cos of Spain. Two more board seats open in 2027, as Isabel Schnabel leaves in January and the chief economist Philip Lane in May. - 1998: Wim Duisenberg (Netherlands) - 2003: Jean-Claude Trichet (France) - 2011: Mario Draghi (Italy) - 2019: Christine Lagarde (France) - 2027: To be chosen - Euro area governments propose candidates - The Eurogroup (finance ministers) agrees on one - The Council recommends; Parliament and the ECB give opinions - Leaders of the euro-area countries appoint - **16 / 21**: countries at least - **65%**: of the euro area’s population - **8 years**: one term, not renewable - 4 Jan: Isabel Schnabel starts at the IMF - 7 Feb: Christine Lagarde - 31 May: Philip Lane, chief economist Chapter VII · Who leads next #### The succession Council of the EU: euro area governments propose candidates, the Eurogroup agrees on one, the Council recommends to the European Council, which consults the European Parliament and the ECB Governing Council and then, in its euro area composition, appoints by reinforced qualified majority: with 21 members, at least 16 countries representing at least 65% of the euro area population. The term is eight years, non-renewable. RTÉ: Lagarde became president in November 2019; she is a former French finance minister and head of the IMF; former governors Klaas Knot (Netherlands) and Pablo Hernández de Cos (Spain) are seen as front-runners, and the appointment may be combined with replacing board members Isabel Schnabel and Philip Lane. Wikipedia (ECB) lists the earlier presidents. Il Sole 24 Ore: Isabel Schnabel starts at the IMF on 4 January 2027, a year before her term was due to end on 31 December 2027; Philip Lane’s term as chief economist ends on 31 May 2027. The map is a simplified teaching model: borders are smoothed and very small states are shown as dots. Heights and colours mark membership, not size or wealth. Sources: [Council of the EU: how ECB Executive Board members are appointed](https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/infographics/ecb-executive-board-appointment-procedure/); [RTÉ News (29 Oct 2026): Lagarde announces resignation after months of speculation](https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2026/1029/1597194-christine-lagarde/); [Il Sole 24 Ore: Schnabel leaves the ECB early for the IMF; Lane’s term ends on 31 May 2027](https://en.ilsole24ore.com/art/schnabel-makes-an-early-statement-on-the-monetary-fund-via-the-ecbs-risiko-AJiTUOPB); [Wikipedia: European Central Bank](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Central_Bank); [France 24 (29 Oct 2026): ECB chief Lagarde to step down early, triggering succession race](https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20261029-ecb-chief-lagarde-to-step-down-early-triggering-succession-race) ## Epilogue ### The euro is an agreement made of metal, paper and trust: one money for countries that still keep their own budgets, their own elections and their own economies. It came through a debt crisis without losing a member, grew from eleven members to twenty-one, and became the world's second currency. Who will lead it next, and whether one interest rate can keep serving them all, are questions for the years ahead. - 1992: Maastricht Treaty signed - 1998: ECB set up in Frankfurt - 1999: Euro born in 11 countries - 2002: Notes and coins - 2010–2012: Debt crisis and rescues - 2026: Bulgaria makes 21 - 2027: A new ECB president - Who will succeed Lagarde? - Will more EU countries join? - Can one rate keep fitting everyone? - Stills are AI-generated - The map is simplified - The coin and the two-country model are illustrations Epilogue · Sources #### Sources Every fact in this film comes from the sources below. The chapter stills and pictures are AI-generated illustrations. The map is built from Natural Earth country outlines (public domain) and simplified; the coin is a generic model, not a copy of a real design; the two-country model in Chapter V uses invented numbers; and the Governing Council seats show the rotation rule, not the ECB’s real calendar. Sources: [European Central Bank press release (29 Oct 2026): ECB President Lagarde to step down on 7 February 2027](https://www.ecb.europa.eu/press/pr/date/2026/html/ecb.pr261029~abbb6dc64b.en.html); [RTÉ News (29 Oct 2026): Lagarde announces resignation after months of speculation](https://www.rte.ie/news/business/2026/1029/1597194-christine-lagarde/); [France 24 (29 Oct 2026): ECB chief Lagarde to step down early, triggering succession race](https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20261029-ecb-chief-lagarde-to-step-down-early-triggering-succession-race); [Il Sole 24 Ore: Schnabel leaves the ECB early for the IMF; Lane’s term ends on 31 May 2027](https://en.ilsole24ore.com/art/schnabel-makes-an-early-statement-on-the-monetary-fund-via-the-ecbs-risiko-AJiTUOPB); [European Stability Mechanism (8 Oct 2012): the ESM is inaugurated](https://www.esm.europa.eu/press-releases/european-stability-mechanism-esm-inaugurated); [CNN Money (2013): the IMF’s own review of the 2010 Greek rescue](https://money.cnn.com/2013/06/06/news/economy/imf-greece/index.html); [European Parliament: the Maastricht Treaty (Treaty on European Union)](https://www.europarl.europa.eu/about-parliament/en/in-the-past/the-parliament-and-the-treaties/maastricht-treaty); [Encyclopaedia Britannica: Maastricht Treaty](https://WWW.Britannica.com/event/Maastricht-Treaty); [European Commission: convergence criteria for joining the euro](https://economy-finance.ec.europa.eu/euro/enlargement-euro-area/convergence-criteria-joining_en); [CEPR VoxEU: the Maastricht values, where 3% and 60% came from](https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/maastricht-values); [Banco de España: the introduction of the euro](https://www.bde.es/wbe/en/sobre-banco/actividad-europea/eurosistema-sebc/historia-eurosistema/euro/introduccion-euro/); [Wikipedia: European Central Bank](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_Central_Bank); [Central Bank of Ireland: euro coins](https://centralbank.ie/consumer-hub/notes-and-coins/euro-coins); [European Central Bank: the Europa series of euro banknotes](https://www.ecb.europa.eu/euro/banknotes/europa/html/index.en.html); [Wikipedia: Eurozone (members, adoption dates, non-EU users)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurozone); [Banque de France: Bulgaria, the 21st member of the euro area in 2026](https://www.banque-france.fr/en/news/21st-member-euro-area-2026-bulgaria); [Bank of Finland Bulletin (2021): the ECB revised its monetary policy strategy, what changed?](https://bofbulletin.fi/en/2021/4/ecb-revised-its-monetary-policy-strategy-whats-changed); [Banco de España: the ECB raises rates by 25 basis points (June 2026)](https://www.bde.es/wbe/en/noticias-eventos/actualidad-bce/decisiones-politica-monetaria/bce-tipos-junio26.html); [Deutsche Bundesbank: how voting rights rotate on the ECB Governing Council](https://www.bundesbank.de/en/tasks/topics/how-voting-rights-rotate-on-the-ecb-governing-council-654426); [IMF (1999): Mundell, the euro and optimum currency areas](https://www.imf.org/external/np/vc/1999/121399.htm); [Wikipedia: First Economic Adjustment Programme for Greece (May 2010)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Economic_Adjustment_Programme_for_Greece); [European Stability Mechanism: financial assistance programmes](https://www.esm.europa.eu/financial-assistance); [CNBC: Draghi’s “whatever it takes”, 26 July 2012, London](https://www.cnbc.com/2013/07/25/draghis-most-memorable-moments.html); [Kitco / Reuters (2 Jun 2026): ECB report on the international role of the euro](https://www.kitco.com/news/off-the-wire/2026-06-02/euro-fails-nab-big-market-share-dollar-despite-erratic-us-policy); [Council of the EU: how ECB Executive Board members are appointed](https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/infographics/ecb-executive-board-appointment-procedure/)