240. Since when has the euro been used for cash payments in Germany?

Answer options

1. 1995
2. 1998
3. 2002
4. 2005

Explanation

The euro existed as book money from 1 January 1999; cash euro banknotes and coins entered circulation on 1 January 2002, from which date cash payments in Germany were made in euro. A dual-circulation period lasted until 28 February 2002, after which the Deutsche Mark ceased to be legal tender, though the Bundesbank exchanges DM indefinitely. The legal framework derives from the Maastricht Treaty and, today, Article 128 TFEU; Germany’s Basic Law (Arts. 23 and 88) enabled the transfer of monetary sovereignty to the ECB/ESCB, upheld by the Federal Constitutional Court’s 1993 Maastricht judgment.