It was "intended" when the price was originally set. The goal was that the European economy would keep its ratio to the US roughly the same.

Central banks do have some thumb on that scale, but as you say, it's entirely about keeping the economies healthy, not maintaining any specific ratio to other currencies. If it has fallen so far that the ratio is 1.0, that's not a problem for the currency itself, but it does happen because the economy is struggling more than the American economy is.