There are seven currencies of the European Union used officially by member states. The euro is used by a majority of EU member states, with the remaining states operating independent monetary policies. Those European Union member 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 that came fully into being on 1 January 2002 and it is now the currency used by the majority of the European Union's member states, with all but Denmark (which has an opt-out in the EU treaties) bound to adopt it. It is the currency used by the institutions of the European Union and in the failed treaty on a 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 Denmark, all current and future members of the EU are obliged to adopt the Euro as their currency, thus replacing their current ones.The euro , European Commission The relationship between euro and non-euro states has been on debate both during the United Kingdom'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 the countries inside and those outside the eurozone, avoiding a eurozone caucus out-voting non-euro states. Former member United Kingdom had called for the EU treaties to recognise the EU as a "multicurrency union", which sparked concerns about undermining euro adoption in remaining countries.The Eurozone seeks a post-Brexit balance , European Data Journalism Network 15 December 2017UK call for ‘multicurrency’ EU triggers ECB alarm , Financial Times 4 December 2015The Great British Euro Conundrum , Handelsblatt 20 June 2016What a fair relationship between ‘euro ins’ and ‘euro outs’ could look like , London School of Economics 26 January 2016

Current currencies

The following are official currencies used within the borders of the 27 EU member states: Currency Region Symbol ISO Peg Notes Euro Eurozone:€EURFloatingAlso used by EU institutions.Czech korunaKčCZKFloatingDanish kronekrDKKERM IIOpt-out from adopting the euro.Hungarian forintFtHUFFloatingPolish złotyzłPLNFloatingRomanian leuLeuRONFloatingSwedish kronakrSEKFloating 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.

Historical currencies

Currency State Symbol ISO Yieldedon Rate toeuro Notes Austrian schilling S or öS (ATS) 1999/2002 13.7603 Belgian franc fr. (BEF) 1999/2002 40.3399 Bulgarian levлв(BGN) 2026 1.95583 Croatian kuna kn (HRK) 2023 7.5345 Cypriot pound £ (CYP) 2008 0.585274 Dutch guilder ƒ or fl. (NLG) 1999/2002 2.20371 Estonian kroon Kr (EEK) 2011 15.6466 Finnish markka mk (FIM) 1999/2002 5.94573 French franc ₣, F or FF (FRF) 1999/2002 6.55957 German mark DM (DEM) 1999/2002 1.95583 Greek drachma (GRD) 2001/2002 340.75 Irish pound £ (IEP) 1999/2002 0.787564 Italian lira ₤, L. or LIT (ITL) 1999/2002 1,936.27 Latvian lats Ls (LVL) 2014 0.702804 Lithuanian litas Lt (LTL) 2015 3.4528 Luxembourgian franc fr. or F (LUF) 1999/2002 40.3399 Maltese lira ₤ or Lm (MTL) 2008 0.4293 Pound sterling £ GBP was part of EU until Brexit Portuguese escudo $ (PTE) 1999/2002 200.482 Slovak koruna Sk (SKK) 2009 30.126 Slovenian tolar T (SIT) 2007 239.64 Spanish peseta ₧ (ESP) 1999/2002 166.386 ₠, ECU or XEU (XEU) 1999/2002 1

See also Economy of the European Union List of currencies in Europe List of circulating currencies

Notes

References