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On January 1, 1999, the euro became the official currency of Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain.
The latest country to join the eurozone was Croatia, which introduced the common currency on January 1, 2023.
Since 2002, the euro has become the second most important currency in the world after the US dollar.
The 50 euro note is used the most, with 13.6 billion banknotes in circulation.
Sources: (The Economic Times) (European Commission) (Bound)
In 1995, the name "euro" was agreed at the European Council meeting in Madrid as part of the preparations for the single currency.
The euro symbol, €, was inspired by the Greek letter epsilon, Є, a reference to the cradle of European civilization. It also stands for the first letter of the word "Europe" in the Latin alphabet. The two parallel lines running through the symbol signify stability.
In January 2022, there were 27.9 billion euro banknotes and 141 billion euro coins in circulation in the euro area.
Now that you've learned about the European countries that haven't adopted the euro, click on for some interesting euro facts!
Since joining the EU in 2007, Romanians have consistently been in favor of adopting the euro.
Despite efforts being made to meet the convergence criteria, the country has so far failed to do so and, as a result, has been unable to adopt the euro.
The Romanian leu (RON) is the currency of Romania. Meanwhile, the current scheduled date for euro adoption falls in 2026.
Despite decreasing levels of public support, Bulgaria is persisting with plans to adopt the euro. The nation is set to meet its target of joining in 2025.
Meanwhile, the eastern European country uses the Bulgarian lev (BGN).
Currently, Bulgaria meets four of the five convergence criteria, the only exception being that the country's currency hasn't been part of the ERM II system for two years.
After the Czech Republic joined the EU in 2004, there was initially a high level of support for adopting the euro.
However, following the eurozone crisis, support for adopting the euro in the Czech Republic has decreased dramatically
As a result, Poland has avoided fulfilling the convergence criteria that would qualify the nation in using the euro.
As a result, the Czech Republic has actively failed to meet the convergence criteria, which didn't oblige it to adopt the euro. They've instead kept their Czech koruna (CZK).
Poland has never held a referendum on whether it should adopt the euro. Also, there have been very mixed opinions on whether it would be beneficial for the country or not.
After joining the EU in 2004, Hungary's then socialist government had planned to adopt the euro in a short period of time.
Despite austerity measures being introduced, Hungary has been unable to join the eurozone. More recently, there has also been reduced public support for adopting the euro.
Sweden is, in many ways, in the same position as Denmark without having negotiated exemption from joining the euro.
Instead, they've kept their own historic currency, the Polish zloty (PNL).
Sweden is a global example of independent, self-sufficient monetary policy. It's one of the pioneers of inflation targeting and has a freely floating exchange rate.
However, a high budget deficit, high level of inflation, and a high level of public debt meant that they were unable to do so. Hungary's currency is the Hungarian forint (HUF).
Most countries that join the EU are required to adopt the euro as part of their membership. However, Denmark is officially exempt from this requirement.
In 2003, Sweden held a national referendum on whether the country should adopt the euro, the outcome of which was a public "no" vote. As a result, Sweden stuck with its Swedish krona (SEK).
Even so, Denmark still participates in the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II). As part of its participation in this, the value of the Danish krone is pegged to the value of the euro. This means that the Danish government is required to control the value of their currency so that it stays at a certain level of value relative to the euro.
Following a referendum held in 2000, in which the Danish public voted not to use the euro, the government negotiated an exemption from doing so. As a result, Denmark still uses the Danish krone (DKK) as its currency.
The formation of the European Union (EU) paved the way for a unified, multi-country financial system under a single currency, the euro. Now used in 20 countries, the euro helped increase trade and reduce exchange rate risks in eurozone countries. However, a few European nations decided to stick with their own currencies despite being member states.
Check out this gallery to see which countries don't use the euro as currency, and why.
Why these European countries don't use the euro as currency
See which EU member states have opted out of adopting the euro
LIFESTYLE Europe
The formation of the European Union (EU) paved the way for a unified, multi-country financial system under a single currency, the euro. Now used in 20 countries, the euro helped increase trade and reduce exchange rate risks in eurozone countries. However, a few European nations decided to stick with their own currencies despite being member states.
Check out this gallery to see which countries don't use the euro as currency, and why.