Currencies of the European Union

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EU GDP by currency group[1]

  Eurozone (72.9%)
  Non-Eurozone (Minus UK) (12%)
  United Kingdom (15.1%)

There are eleven currencies of the European Union as of 2018 used officially by member states. The euro accounts for the majority of the member states with the remainder operating independent monetary policies. Those European Union states that have adopted it are known as the eurozone and share the European Central Bank (ECB). The ECB and the national central banks of all EU countries, including those who operate an independent currency, are part of the European System of Central Banks.

Euro

The euro is the result of the European Union's project for economic and monetary union which came fully into being on 1 January 2002 and it is now the currency used by the majority of European Union's member states, with all but two bound to adopt it. It is the currency used by the institutions of the European Union and in the failed European Constitution it was to be included with the symbols of Europe as the formal currency of the European Union. The euro is also widely used by other states outside the EU.

Except for the two states with opt outs, all current and future members of the EU are obliged to adopt the Euro as their currency, thus replacing their current ones.[2] The relationship between euro and non-euro states has been on debate both during the UK's membership (as a large opt-out state) and in light of withdrawal from the EU and how that impacts the balance of power between those in and out of the euro; namely avoiding a eurozone caucus out-voting non-euro states. The UK had called for the EU treaties to recognise the EU as a "multicurrency union", which sparked concerns about undermining euro adoption in remaining countries.[1] [3][4][5]

Current currencies

Map of currencies used within the EU and dates of Euro adoption
  States which used the euro from 1999 (currency entered circulation 2002)
  States which subsequently adopted the euro
  States using other currencies

The following are official and unofficial currencies used within the borders of the European Union;

Currency Region Symbol ISO Peg Notes
Bulgarian lev  Bulgaria лв BGN Currency board
British pound sterling
Gibraltar pound
 United Kingdom
 Gibraltar
£ GBP
GIP
Floating
Pegged to pound sterling
Croatian kuna  Croatia kn HRK Floating
Czech koruna  Czech Republic CZK Floating
Danish krone  Denmark kr DKK ERM II
Euro EUR Floating Also used by EU institutions
Hungarian forint  Hungary Ft HUF Floating
Polish złoty  Poland PLN Floating
Romanian leu  Romania Leu RON Floating
Swedish krona  Sweden kr SEK Floating
Swiss franc Campione d'Italia (Italy)[6]
Büsingen am Hochrhein (Germany)[7]
Fr. CHF Floating Swiss franc is issued by Switzerland.
Turkish lira Northern Cyprus (Cyprus)[8] TL TRY Floating Turkish lira is issued by Turkey
Note that there are other currencies used in overseas territories of member states. Those territories however are not part of the European Union proper (legally subject to all its law) so are not listed here.

Historic currencies

Currency State Symbol ISO Completely Yielded
on
Rate to
euro
Notes
Austrian schilling  Austria S or öS (ATS) 1999/2002 13.7603
Belgian franc  Belgium fr. (BEF) 1999/2002 40.3399 Interchangeable with Luxembourgian franc (BLEU)
Cypriot pound  Cyprus £ (CYP) 2008 0.585274
Dutch guilder  Netherlands ƒ or fl. (NLG) 1999/2002 2.20371
Estonian kroon  Estonia Kr (EEK) 2011 15.6466
Finnish markka  Finland mk (FIM) 1999/2002 5.94573
French franc  France ₣, F or FF (FRF) 1999/2002 6.55957 Linked to Monegasque franc,[9] both valid in France, Andorra and Monaco.
German mark  Germany DM (DEM) 1999/2002 1.95583
Greek drachma  Greece Δρχ., Δρ. or ₯ (GRD) 2001/2002 340.75
Irish pound  Ireland £ (IEP) 1999/2002 0.787564
Italian lira  Italy ₤, L. or LIT (ITL) 1999/2002 1,936.27 Linked to Sammarinese & Vatican lira,[10] all valid in Italy, San Marino and the Vatican City.
Latvian lats  Latvia Ls (LVL) 2014 0.702804
Lithuanian litas  Lithuania Lt (LTL) 2015 3.4528
Luxembourgian franc  Luxembourg fr. or F (LUF) 1999/2002 40.3399 Interchangeable with Belgian franc (BLEU).
Maltese lira  Malta ₤ or Lm (MTL) 2008 0.4293
Portuguese escudo  Portugal or $ (PTE) 1999/2002 200.482
Slovak koruna  Slovakia Sk (SKK) 2009 30.126
Slovenian tolar  Slovenia SIT (SIT) 2007 239.64
Spanish peseta  Spain (ESP) 1999/2002 166.386
European Currency Unit Accounting only ₠, ECU or XEU (XEU) 1999/2002 1 Accounting currency alongside national currencies until the euro introduction.

See also

Notes

References

  1. ^ a b The Eurozone seeks a post-Brexit balance, European Data Journalism Network 15 December 2017
  2. ^ The euro, European Commission
  3. ^ UK call for ‘multicurrency’ EU triggers ECB alarm, Financial Times 4 December 2015
  4. ^ The Great British Euro Conundrum, Handelsblatt 20 June 2016
  5. ^ What a fair relationship between ‘euro ins’ and ‘euro outs’ could look like, London School of Economics 26 January 2016
  6. ^ Swiss franc is the official currency and euro is widely accepted.
  7. ^ The euro is the official currency but the Swiss franc is more widely used due to it being a Swiss enclave.
  8. ^ EU law is suspended in Northern Cyprus, and the Turkish Cypriot government who use the Turkish lira are not recognised as the legitimate government of the region. Nevertheless, the euro does circulate widely.
  9. ^ Replaced alongside French franc with euro
  10. ^ Replaced alongside Italian lira with euro
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