Countries That Use the Euro

This content was last updated on 24.01.2024 22:20

The Euro is the official currency of the European Union (EU) and refers to the common currency used by approximately 350 million people living in the European continent. Euro, which is the second most widely used currency after the American Dollar, which is the reserve currency in the world, is printed and managed by the European Central Bank.

With approximately 1.2 Trillion Euro notes and coins in circulation as of September 2018, the Euro is the currency with the largest total value in the world. According to the 2008 GDP and purchasing power parity estimates made by the International Monetary Fund between various currencies, the Eurozone is the second largest economy in the world.

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What is the Eurozone?

The Eurozone, officially called the "Euro Area", is the economic and monetary union of 19 European Union (EU) member states that use the Euro (€) as their common currency.

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How Many Countries Use the Euro?

As of today, there are 19 countries in the Eurozone. These are the following countries;

• Germany
• Austria
• Belgium
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Holland
• Ireland
• Spain
• Italy
• Cyprus
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• Portugal
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Greece

Although Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican are not members of the EU, they use the Euro within the framework of the agreements made.

Montenegro and Kosovo use the euro without signing any agreement with the EU.

Do All European Union Member Countries Use the Euro?

Not all EU member states are currently included in the Eurozone. Other EU member states that are not currently in the Eurozone must join the Eurozone when they meet the criteria. (Except Denmark) Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Croatia, Hungary, Poland and Romania must also switch to the Euro after meeting the criteria.

Denmark is an EU member that did not switch to the Euro based on the privileges contained in the Maastricht Treaty. Unless the government of this country or the people of this country decide in this direction as a result of a referendum, it will not face legal pressure from the EU. On September 28, 2000, a referendum was held in Denmark in which it was voted whether or not to switch to the Euro, and 53.2% of the voters opposed the transition to the Euro.

Although Sweden does not have a privilege on the Euro issue, the referendums held in this country prevent the transition to the Euro. A referendum was held on 14 September 2003 and 56.1% of those who voted said "No" to the Euro.

Although there were great debates about Greece's departure from the Euro Zone during the debt crisis, no country has ever left the union.

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