query: What is the currency of Italy?
passage: Italian lira
The term originates from the value of a pound weight (Latin: libra) of high purity silver and as such is a direct cognate of the British pound sterling; in some countries, such as Cyprus and Malta, the words lira and pound were used as equivalents, before the euro was adopted in 2008 in the two countries. "L", sometimes in a double-crossed script form ("₤"), was the symbol most often used. Until the Second World War, it was subdivided into 100 centesimi (singular: centesimo), which translates to "hundredths" or "cents".
passage: Transnational citizenship
Finally, the creation of the euro serves as the pinnacle of Europe's newfound economic unification. On January 1, 1999, the euro replaced the pre-existing currency in 11 European countries. The Treaty of Maastricht also created the European System of Central Banks, which consists of the Central European Bank and national central banks working together to establish monetary policy across participating countries. Some scholars consider the act of unifying the currency as "culminating the progress toward economic and monetary union in Europe". While the aspect of monetary union is clear, the far-reaching effects of economic union between countries could be considered a cause for debate. Regardless, the euro allows for transnational citizens of the European Union to not only move freely across borders, but also to experience easier monetary exchanges through the ability to use a currency that is present in both the citizens' home and host countries. The political, economic, and social ramifications that result from the invention of the European Union help contribute to the construction of European citizens as the international model for transnational citizenship.