Post by Oz-T on Jan 7, 2015 1:13:29 GMT
Despite the chaos within the Eurozone these past years, it hasn't stopped countries joining up, sometimes because they're obliged to. The latest member is the Baltic state of Lithuania, which adopted the euro on 1 January 2015.
There are now 19 Eurozone countries using the euro as their official currency:
Original members (11) (1 January 1999):
Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain
Newer members (8):
Greece, (1 Jan 2001)
Slovenia (1 Jan 2007)
Cyprus & Malta (1 Jan 2008)
Slovakia (1 Jan 2009)
Estonia (1 Jan 2011)
Latvia (1 Jan 2014)
Lithuania (1 Jan 2015)
In addition to this, several small countries have adopted the euro, even though they're not technically part of the Eurozone (and can't print banknotes). These countries are:
Non-official adopters (6):
Andorra, Kosovo, Monaco, Montenegro, San Marino & Vatican City
The remaining countries of Europe (apart from UK and Denmark) have an obligation to join the Eurozone when they formally qualify to do so. These are:
Prospective members (7):
Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania & Sweden
These countries tend to want to join the Eurozone, although some wish to delay their entry, or don't yet meet the financial requirements. Hungary might be the next to join, although this would be unlikely before 2016. Sweden though, has had a complete change of mind and doesn't wish to join. Despite the European Central Bank originally demanding that all countries adhere to their treaties, the ECB is not pressuring Sweden on this.
And finally. there are many countries that stick with their own currencies, but fix (or fix within a range) their exchange rate to the euro. These are mainly small African countries, but notable exceptions are Denmark, Bulgaria and Bosnia-Herzegovina and New Caledonia.
Hopefully, this will serve as a guide to anybody wishing to travel to any country using euros as their currency.
There are now 19 Eurozone countries using the euro as their official currency:
Original members (11) (1 January 1999):
Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain
Newer members (8):
Greece, (1 Jan 2001)
Slovenia (1 Jan 2007)
Cyprus & Malta (1 Jan 2008)
Slovakia (1 Jan 2009)
Estonia (1 Jan 2011)
Latvia (1 Jan 2014)
Lithuania (1 Jan 2015)
In addition to this, several small countries have adopted the euro, even though they're not technically part of the Eurozone (and can't print banknotes). These countries are:
Non-official adopters (6):
Andorra, Kosovo, Monaco, Montenegro, San Marino & Vatican City
The remaining countries of Europe (apart from UK and Denmark) have an obligation to join the Eurozone when they formally qualify to do so. These are:
Prospective members (7):
Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania & Sweden
These countries tend to want to join the Eurozone, although some wish to delay their entry, or don't yet meet the financial requirements. Hungary might be the next to join, although this would be unlikely before 2016. Sweden though, has had a complete change of mind and doesn't wish to join. Despite the European Central Bank originally demanding that all countries adhere to their treaties, the ECB is not pressuring Sweden on this.
And finally. there are many countries that stick with their own currencies, but fix (or fix within a range) their exchange rate to the euro. These are mainly small African countries, but notable exceptions are Denmark, Bulgaria and Bosnia-Herzegovina and New Caledonia.
Hopefully, this will serve as a guide to anybody wishing to travel to any country using euros as their currency.