Currencies of the European Union

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There are eight currencies of the European Unionas of 2025 used officially by member states. The euro is used by a majority of EU member states, while the remainder 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.

Contents

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. [1] 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. [2] [3] [4] [5]

Current currencies

Map of currencies used within the EU and dates of Euro adoption .mw-parser-output .legend{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .legend-color{display:inline-block;min-width:1.25em;height:1.25em;line-height:1.25;margin:1px 0;text-align:center;border:1px solid black;background-color:transparent;color:black}.mw-parser-output .legend-text{} States which used the euro from 1999 (currency entered circulation 2002) States which subsequently adopted the euro States using other currencies Eurozone main map.svg
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
EU GDP by currency area (2023) [6]
  1. Eurozone (84.9%)
  2. Poland (4.40%)
  3. Sweden (3.10%)
  4. Others (7.60%)

Historic currencies

Currency State Symbol ISO Yielded
on		Rate to
euro		Notes
Austrian schilling Flag of Austria.svg Austria S or öS(ATS)1999/200213.7603
Belgian franc Flag of Belgium (civil).svg Belgium fr.(BEF)1999/200240.3399 [a]
Croatian kuna Flag of Croatia.svg Croatia kn(HRK)20237.5345
Cypriot pound Flag of Cyprus.svg Cyprus £(CYP)20080.585274
Dutch guilder Flag of the Netherlands.svg Netherlands ƒ or fl.(NLG)1999/20022.20371
Estonian kroon Flag of Estonia.svg Estonia Kr(EEK)201115.6466
Finnish markka Flag of Finland.svg Finland mk(FIM)1999/20025.94573
French franc Flag of France.svg France ₣, F or FF(FRF)1999/20026.55957 [c]
German mark Flag of Germany.svg Germany DM(DEM)1999/20021.95583
Greek drachma Flag of Greece.svg Greece Δρχ., Δρ. or ₯(GRD)2001/2002340.75
Irish pound Flag of Ireland.svg Ireland £(IEP)1999/20020.787564 [d]
Italian lira Flag of Italy.svg Italy ₤, L. or LIT(ITL)1999/20021,936.27 [f]
Latvian lats Flag of Latvia.svg Latvia Ls(LVL)20140.702804
Lithuanian litas Flag of Lithuania.svg Lithuania Lt(LTL)20153.4528
Luxembourgian franc Flag of Luxembourg.svg Luxembourg fr. or F(LUF)1999/200240.3399 [g]
Maltese lira Flag of Malta.svg Malta ₤ or Lm(MTL)20080.4293
Pound sterling Flag of the United Kingdom.svg United Kingdom £GBPwas part of EU until Brexit [h]
Portuguese escudo Flag of Portugal (official).svg Portugal $(PTE)1999/2002200.482
Slovak koruna Flag of Slovakia.svg Slovakia Sk(SKK)200930.126
Slovenian tolar Flag of Slovenia.svg Slovenia T(SIT)2007239.64
Spanish peseta Flag of Spain.svg Spain ₧(ESP)1999/2002166.386
European Currency Unit Accounting only₠, ECU or XEU(XEU)1999/20021 [i]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Interchangeable with Luxembourgian franc (BLEU).
  2. ↑ Replaced alongside French franc with euro
  3. ↑ Linked to Monegasque franc, [b] both valid in France, Andorra and Monaco.
  4. ↑ Was interchangeable with pound sterling until 1979.
  5. ↑ Replaced alongside Italian lira with euro
  6. ↑ Linked to Sammarinese & Vatican lira, [e] all valid in Italy, San Marino and the Vatican City.
  7. ↑ Interchangeable with Belgian franc (BLEU).
  8. ↑ Was interchangeable with Irish pound until 1979.
  9. ↑ Accounting currency alongside national currencies until the euro introduction.

References

  1. ↑ The euro Archived 15 September 2016 at the Wayback Machine , European Commission
  2. ↑ The Eurozone seeks a post-Brexit balance Archived 29 September 2018 at the Wayback Machine , European Data Journalism Network 15 December 2017
  3. ↑ UK call for ‘multicurrency’ EU triggers ECB alarm Archived 10 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine , Financial Times 4 December 2015
  4. ↑ The Great British Euro Conundrum Archived 11 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine , Handelsblatt 20 June 2016
  5. ↑ What a fair relationship between ‘euro ins’ and ‘euro outs’ could look like Archived 24 February 2018 at the Wayback Machine , London School of Economics 26 January 2016
  6. ↑ "GDP and main components (output, expenditure and income)". Eurostat. Archived from the original on 13 April 2023. Retrieved 15 December 2024.
  7. ↑ "Bulgaria ready to use the euro from 1 January 2026: Council takes final steps". European Council. Retrieved 8 July 2025.
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