The 10th anniversary of the single European currency, celebrated in 2009, provided a good occasion to examine the developments of the euro over the decade it existed, and to assess its advances with regard to becoming a global currency. The paper comprises five parts, which include both theoretical and empirical analysis. Section I introduces the notion of a global currency, its main benefits and the economic pre-requisites for gaining this status. Section II provides an overview of the existing literature on the question of the euros role in the global economy and its potential international...