European Currency Unit European Currency Unit The European Currency Unit (₠ or ECU, ) was a basket of the currencies of the European Community member states, used as the unit of account of the European Community before being replaced by the euro on 1 January 1999, at parity. The ECU itself replaced the European Unit of Account, also at parity, on 13 March 1979. The European Exchange Rate Mechanism attempted to minimize fluctuations between member state currencies and the ECU. The ECU was also used in some international financial transactions, where its advantage was that securities denominated in ECUs provided investors with the
Language and the euro but the euro is popularly used, particularly by individuals wanting to convert their savings into a more stable currency. "Euro" has colloquially been pronounced in the English fashion since its inception. In response to criticism of the widespread English pronunciation of "euro", the Turkish Language Association officially introduced "avro" into Turkish ("av" being the first syllable of the Turkish word for Europe, "Avrupa") in 1998. A concerted campaign by the Turkish Language Association has begun to blossom in recent years, with most sections of the Turkish media now using the new word. It has yet to enter widespread colloquial use,