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.
The euro was mostly important for business, not so much for individuals. Although everyone had to get used to it for a bit and some boomers still convert back to the old currency.
What was much more impactful was the shengen accord. This opened up the borders. If you wanted to go from the Netherlands to Germany, you’d no longer have to pass a borderguard. Sure, you’d need a few Marks, but you’d probably have those in a drawer somewhere, or you could just exchange some at the border or at a bank. But now you can easily get grocries at a foreign supermarket if you live near the border.
Open borders also meant free trade. No longer did you see rows of trucjs at the border, waiting for inspection. All trafic could just flow freely.