Before Euro existed, each European country has it’s own currency (French Franc, German Mark, Austrian Schilling, Italian Lira, Spanish Peseta, Portuguese Escudo, Irish Pound, Dutch Guilder, Finnish Markka, etc.). meaning even by crossing the border one has to constantly swap currencies plus inflation. Is that why Euro was created?
Is it because for example, was the German Mark a weak or strong currency? Germany among others adopted Euro in 2002 replacing their own currency. Prior to the adoption of Euro, is it a headache for travelers to swap currencies a lot since each country has it’s own with varying values (volatile whether you’ll end up getting more or losing money).
However there are still EU states that haven’t adopted it today: Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Sweden, Romania, not mentioning Denmark (since they opted out) with new states who adopted it recently, that being both Croatia & Bulgaria. It’s weird since despite Bulgaria adopting it, there’s parallel pricing at stores: in Lev and Euro.
It’s kinda normal to exchange money when you’re traveling to a different coutry, it’s no more inconvenient than the fact that most international travel destinations in Europe are going to speak a language you don’t know. i.e. very inconvenient, but stuff like this is kinda part of the experience when you’re travelling for fun IMO. Not good when you’re there on business, though.
German Mark was a very strong currency, to the detriment of Germany’s very export-oriented economy. Many other EU countries did have comparatively weak currencies, even some of the bigger ones like Italy, but it’s a double-edged sword to give up the ability to make your own monetary policy.