It was re-introduced (in decimal form) in 1795 and remained the national currency until the introduction of the euro in 1999 (for accounting purposes) and 2002 (coins and banknotes).
Despite the introduction of the euro more than ten years ago, the provision of post-trading services (i.e. clearing and settlement) remained heavily fragmented along national lines.
Introduction of the euro has resulted in effective harmonisation of interest rates across the drastically divergent economic systems that comprise the area.
The short answer is that the introduction of the euro spurred the emergence of enormous macroeconomic imbalances that were unsustainable, and that the eurozone has proved institutionally ill-equipped to tackle.
