Countries Using the Euro as Their Currency

Countries Using the Euro as Their Currency

Выполнена преподавателем английского языка

"Нижегородского Губернского колледжа"

Кузнецовой Светланой Ивановной.

• The goal of the establishment of the Euro was to make European commerce easier and more integrated.
• The currency debuted in 2002 in a dozen countries.
• More have since signed on, and additional countries plan to.
• The euro and the dollar are key to global markets.

The Euro: €

The symbol for the euro is a rounded "E" with one or two cross lines: €.

Euros are divided into euro cents,

each euro cent consisting of one one-hundredth of a euro.

Euro Countries

The euro is one of the world's most powerful currencies,

used by more than 175 million Europeans in 19 of 28  EU member countries ,

as well as some countries that are not formally members of the EU.

Countries currently using the euro:

• Andorra   (not an EU member)
• Austria
• Belgium
• Cyprus
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Ireland
• Italy

Countries that do not use the euro, but are part of the Single Euro Payments Area, which allows simplified bank transfers:

• Bulgaria
• Croatia
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Liechtenstein
• Norway
• Poland
• Romania
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• United Kingdom

• Kosovo   (not all countries recognize Kosovo as an independent nation)
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• Monaco (not in the EU)
• Montenegro (not in the EU)
• The Netherlands
• Portugal
• San Marino (not in the EU)
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Vatican City   (not in the EU)

Territories that use the euro:

• Akrotiri and Dhekelia (British territory)
• French Southern and Antarctic Lands
• Saint Bathelemy (overseas collectivity of France)
• Saint Martin (overseas collectivity of France)
• Saint Pierre and Miquelon (overseas collectivity of France)

Recent and Future Euro Countries

• Slovakia started using the euro on January 1, 2009.
• Estonia began using the euro on January 1, 2011.
• Latvia began using the euro on January 1, 2014.
• Lithuania began using the euro January 1, 2015.

• EU members the United Kingdom, Denmark, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia , and Sweden don't use the euro as of 2019.
• New EU member countries are working toward becoming part of the eurozone.

• Romania planned to start using the currency in 2022.

• Croatia planned to adopt it in 2024. 

Countries' economies are evaluated every two years to see if they're strong enough to adopt the euro,

using figures such as interest rates, inflation, exchange rates, gross domestic product, and government debt.

Why Some Countries Don't Use It

Great Britain and  Denmark  are the two countries that, as part of the EU, opted out of adopting the currency.

Great Britain even voted to leave the European Union in the Brexit vote.

The pound sterling is a major currency in the world, so leaders didn't see the need to adopt anything else at the time the euro was created.

The countries that opted-out of the euro could be more nimble in dealing with a widespread crisis that affects countries differently, such in the case of Greece in 2007–2008.

Greece couldn't set its own policies or take its own measures.

A hot-button issue at the time was whether bankrupt Greece was going to stay in the eurozone or bring back its currency. 

Denmark doesn't use the euro but has its currency, the krone,

tied to the euro to maintain the country's economic stability

and to avoid market speculation on its currency.

The dollar has historically been used as a common currency internationally, just like English has been a common language between people of different countries.

Foreign countries and investors see U.S. Treasury bonds as safe places to put their money

• because of a stable government behind the dollar;
• some countries even hold their financial reserves in dollars;
• the currency also has size and liquidity, which are needed to be a major world player.

When the euro was first established, the exchange rate was set based on the European Currency Unit,

which was based on a collection of European currencies.

It generally runs a little higher than the dollar.