European Unit of Account European Unit of Account The European Unit of Account (EUA) was a unit of account used in the European Communities from 1975 to 1979, when it was replaced at parity by the European Currency Unit, in turn replaced at parity in 1999 by the euro. Initially it was used for Lomé Convention and European Investment Bank operations before being gradually introduced into other sectors of Community activity. The EUA was a basket of European currencies, originally designed to have the same value in mid-1974 as the IMF special drawing rights basket, both worth US$1.20635; they immediately moved apart in value.
European Currency Unit A common theme on the coins was usually celebrating European unity, such as celebrating membership of the European Union. In 1989, the government of the Netherlands issued a series of ECU coins from ₠2½ to ₠200, which could be spent in shops in The Hague, during the European Capital of Culture festival. Gibraltar issued commemorative coins from 1993 through 1996. 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