Those 12 countries within the European Union that have adopted the as their common currency. In 2002 Euro notes and coins entered general circulation in Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Finland, and Greece, with each country taking a short period of time to phase out its old currency.
The Eurozone (also called Euro Area, Eurosystem or Euroland) is the subset of European Union member states which have adopted the euro, creating an economic and monetary union.
Countries with the euro as currency
Official members
In 1998 eleven EU member-states had met the convergence criteria, and the Eurozone came into existence with the official launch of the euro on 1 January 1999; Greece qualified in 2000 and was admitted on 1 January 2001, bringing total Eurozone membership to its current level of over 307 million people and twelve member states:
Austria Belgium Finland France (except Pacific territories using CFP franc) Germany Greece Ireland Italy Luxembourg Netherlands Portugal SpainNations with formal agreements with the EU
Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City also use the euro, although they are not officially euro members nor members of the EU.
Non-Eurozone EU countries
The other 13 countries of the European Union that do not use the euro are: Denmark, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the ten member states that joined the Union on 1 May 2004;
| Date of entry | Country | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1 January 1999 | Denmark | The Danish krone entered the ERM II in 1999, when the euro was created. |
| 28 June 2004 | Estonia | Estonia had pegged its currency to the German Mark, and then the euro. |
| Lithuania | The Lithuanian litas was pegged to the US dollar until 2 February 2002, when it switched to a euro peg. | |
| Slovenia | The Slovenian tolar floats in a ±15% range (1 eur = 239.64 sit) against the euro. (Since entering into ERM II it has floated in the range of ±1%) | |
| 2 May 2005 | Cyprus | |
| Latvia | Latvia has a currency board arrangement whose anchor switched from the SDR to the euro on 1 January 2005. | |
| Malta | The Maltese lira entered the ERM II on 2 May 2005, and floats in a ±15% range against the euro (1 eur = 0.429300 LM). | |
| 28 November 2005 | Slovakia | The koruna now floats in a ±15% range (1 eur = 38.4550 Sk) against the euro. |
Denmark
A referendum on joining the Eurozone was held on 28 September 2000, resulting in a 53.2% vote against joining. Due to the fact that the kroon is pegged to the euro at a fixed rate anyway, the euro currently serves as a de facto secondary currency with almost all shops showing prices in euro and many willing to accept it.
Hungary
Hungary plans to adopt the euro as its official currency on 1 January 2010, although unofficial assessments suggest it will only happen by 2012 or even 2016.
Poland
Although Poland is obliged to join the Eurozone as euro adoption was "part of the EU-package", the Polish president Lech Kaczyński has said he wants to organise a referendum concerning euro adoption. However, one of the main reasons for hostility is the perceived failure of the euro in Eurozone economies — the UK has enjoyed superior economic performance to major Eurozone economies throughout the euro era.
Euro adoption by the new member states and Sweden
The ten new member states, Bulgaria, and Romania (scheduled to enter the European Union in 2007) should be adopting the euro as soon as appropriate guidelines are met.
| Slovenia | Estonia | Latvia | Malta | Cyprus | Lithuania | Slovakia | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Target date for euro adoption | 1 January 2007 | 1 January 2008 | 1 January 2008 | 1 January 2008 | 1 January 2008 | 1 January 2009 | 1 January 2009 |
| ERM II entry | 28 June 2004 | 28 June 2004 | 2 May 2005 | 2 May 2005 | 2 May 2005 | 28 June 2004 | 28 November 2005 |
| Co-ordinating institution | The Coordinating Committee for Technical Preparations, created in July 2004 | The National Changeover Committee, created on 27 January 2005 | The Steering Committee for the preparation and coordination of the euro changeover was established on 18 July 2005 | Two Committees appointed on 13 June 2005: a Steering Committee and a Euro Changeover Committee reporting to it | Joint coordination by the Minister of Finance and the Central Bank of Cyprus, created on 29 December 2004 | Commission for the Coordination of the Adoption of the euro in Lithuania, created on 30 May 2005 | Ministry of Finance |
| Approved National Changeover Plan | Masterplan approved in Jan, 2005 | First draft approved on September 1, 2005 | Report approved by the government on 21 June 2005. NCP will be approved in November 2005 | First version approved by the government on 27 September 2005 | Approved on 6 July 2005 | ||
| Type of scenario | Big-Bang | Big-Bang | Big-Bang | Big-Bang | Big-Bang | Big-Bang | |
| Dual circulation period | 2 weeks | 2 weeks | 2 weeks | 1 month | 15 days | 16 days | |
| Exchange of national currency | Comm. banks until March 1, Central bank indefinitely | Comm. banks at least 6 months, Central bank indefinitely | Central bank: indefinitely | Central bank: banknotes for 10 years and coins for 2 years. | Commercial banks 60 days, Central bank indefinitely. | Comm. Central bank: banknotes indefinitely, coins for 5 years | |
| Dual display of prices | from 1 March 2006 until 30 June 2007 | 6 months before and after €-day | October 2007-June 2008 | 60 calendar days before until 60 days after €-day | Compulsory: from one month after fixing of conversion rate till one year after euro adoption. Voluntary: for an additional 6 months | ||
| National mint | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| National side | Approved | Approved | Approved | Approved | Approved | Approved | Approved |
| Nr of different coin designs | 8 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| Need for banknotes and coins | 74 million banknotes, 235 million coins | 150-200 million coins | 87 million banknotes and 300 million coins | 118.3 million banknotes, 290 million coins | |||
| Law adaptations | Umbrella law | Umbrella law under consideration | Umbrella law and a second and a third group of laws under consideration | Draft law on the adoption of the euro is prepared | |||
| Communication strategy | Endorsed by Bank of Slovenia on May 19 and by government on 2 June 2005 | Endorsed by the National Changeover Committee on 21 June 2005 | In process | In process | Endorsed by the government on 27 September 2005 | ||
| Czech Republic | Hungary | Poland | Bulgaria | Romania | Sweden | ||
| Target date for euro adoption | 1 January 2010 | January 1, 2010 | 1 January 2011 | 1 January 2010 | Not before 2012 | ||
| ERM II entry | immediately after EU accession | Not before 2010 | |||||
| Co-ordinating institution | Preparatory work is ongoing in the Ministry of Finance and Magyar Nemzeti Bank (Central Bank of Hungary) | Inter-institutional working group MoF-NBP | |||||
| Approved National Changeover Plan | The Czech Republic’s Euro Accession Strategy was approved by the Government in October 2003 | ||||||
| Type of scenario | Big-Bang with possible phase out features | ||||||
| Dual circulation period | 1 month | ||||||
| Exchange of national currency | |||||||
| Dual display of prices | |||||||
| National mint | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
| National side | Competition under consideration | Not yet decided | Public survey under consideration | Not yet decided | Not yet decided | Not yet decided | |
| Nr of different coin designs | |||||||
| Need for banknotes and coins | 230 million banknotes and 950 million coins | ||||||
| Law adaptations | |||||||
| Communication strategy |
Upcoming EU nations
The Bulgarian lev is pegged to the euro. The Bulgarian National Bank and the Bulgarian government have agreed on the introduction of the euro by 2010, most likely on 1 January 2010, when the Bulgarian National Bank is expected to become part of the EMU and will receive the right to issue Bulgarian euro coins. To simplify future adjustments to ATMs at the adoption of the euro, when the Romanian new leu was adopted in 2005 (at 10,000 old lei to 1 new leu) the new banknotes were issued to the same physical proportions as euro banknotes, the old leu notes being substantially longer in relation to their width.
Non-EU currencies pegged to the euro
Cape Verde's currency was pegged to the Portuguese escudo, and now the euro.
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