Euro currency in Cuba since 1998, and Syria since 2006. There are also various currencies pegged to the euro (see below). In 2009, Zimbabwe abandoned its local currency and used major currencies instead, including the euro and the United States dollar. Since its introduction, the euro has been the second most widely held international reserve currency after the U.S. dollar. The share of the euro as a reserve currency increased from 18% in 1999 to 27% in 2008. Over this period, the share held in U.S. dollar fell from 71% to 64% and that held in Yen fell from 6.4% to
History of the euro official currency. The euro is only used in the government-controlled areas of the Republic, the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia (under UK jurisdiction, outside the EU) and in the United Nations Buffer Zone in Cyprus. The de facto Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus continues to use the new Turkish lira as its primary currency and the euro as its secondary currency. Malta replaced the Maltese lira with the euro on 1 January 2008. The aims were officially confirmed on 26 February 2007. On 16 May 2007, the Commissioner for Economic & Financial Affairs of the EU, Joaquín Almunia,