AT L A N T I C O C E A N
AT L A N T I C O C E A NSAINT-BARTHELEMY
INDIAN OCEAN
ATLANTIC OCEAN
ATLANTIC OCEAN
A T L A NT I C
OC
EA
N
NON-CONTINENTAL AND OVERSEAS TERRITORIESOF MEMBER STATES
Paramaribo
Cayenne
Saint-Denis
Fort-de-France
Las Palmasde Gran Canaria
Santa Cruzde Tenerife
Ponta Delgada
100 km
100 km
100 km 100 km
100 km
100 km
São Miguel
Funchal
Madeira
Basse-Terre
SAINT-MARTINMADEIRA (PT)
MARTINIQUE (FR)
GUADELOUPE (FR)
RÉUNION (FR)GUYANE (FR)SURINAME
BRASIL
CANARIAS (ES)
AÇORES (PT)
RÉUNION (FR)
AÇORES (PT)MADEIRA (PT)CANARIAS (ES)
GUYANE (FR)
GUADELOUPE (FR)MARTINIQUE (FR)
Economic and Financial Aff airs
THE EURO AREA
EURO-AREA MEMBERSHIPThe euro is the currency of 17 of the EU’s 28 Member States.
All the others are expected to adopt the euro once they meet the conditions for doing so – except for Denmark and the United Kingdom, which negotiated an opt-out from monetary union in the 1992 Treaty on European Union (the Maastricht Treaty). They may still join at a time of their choosing.
The Maastricht Treaty enshrined the goal of a single currency and set out the conditions for joining. These are the ‘Maastricht criteria’ or ‘convergence criteria’, designed to ensure the smooth functioning of monetary union.
In addition to some legal requirements, most notably an independent central bank, the Maastricht criteria are:• price stability (infl ation no more than 1.5 percentage points above the
three best performing Member States)• sound and sustainable public fi nances
- government defi cit in principle no more than 3% of GDP
- government debt no more than 60% of GDP or approaching that level• durability of convergence (long-term interest rates no more than
2 percentage points above the three best performers in terms of price stability)
• exchange rate stability (two years within the Exchange Rate Mechanism II (ERM II) without severe tensions).
ERM II allows the exchange rates of participating EU currencies to fl uctuate against the euro within fi xed margins above and below a central rate.
The Stability and Growth Pact (SGP)
The SGP states that government defi cits and debt should be less than 3% and less than 60% of GDP respectively. On this basis, the Commission monitors fi scal policy and public fi nances in Member States both inside and outside the euro area. This rule-based framework thus helps promote fi scal discipline in the EU.
OTHER COUNTRIES THAT USE THE EURO
Only EU members can be part of the euro area.
However, while they are not formally part of the euro area or the EU, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican City all use the euro as their currency and are entitled to issue limited quantities of their own euro coins through monetary agreements with the EU.
Kosovo and Montenegro use the euro as their de facto domestic currency, meaning it has no legal status but is commonly used.
THE EVOLUTION OF THE EURO AREA
Belgium
Germany
Ireland
Spain
France
Italy
Luxembourg
Netherlands
Austria
Portugal
Finland
BELGIUM Area: 30 528 km2
Population: 11 094 850 EU member since 1957
(founding member)
GERMANY Area: 357 137 km2
Population: 81 843 743 EU member since 1957
(founding member)
ESTONIA Area: 45 227 km2
Population: 1 339 662 EU member since 2004
IRELAND Area: 69 797 km2
Population: 4 582 769 EU member since 1973
GREECE Area: 131 957 km2
Population: 11 290 067 EU member since 1981
SPAIN Area: 505 990 km2
Population: 46 196 276 EU member since 1986
FRANCE Area: 632 833 km2
Population: 65 327 724 EU member since 1957
(founding member)
ITALY Area: 301 336 km2
Population: 60 820 696 EU member since 1957
(founding member)
CYPRUS1
Area: 9 251 km2
Population: 862 011 EU member since 2004
LUXEMBOURG Area: 2 586 km2
Population: 524 853 EU member since 1957
(founding member)
MALTA Area: 316 km2
Population: 417 520 EU member since 2004
NETHERLANDS Area: 41 540 km2
Population: 16 730 348 EU member since 1957
(founding member)
AUSTRIA Area: 83 879 km2
Population: 8 443 018 EU member since 1995
PORTUGAL Area: 92 211 km2
Population: 10 541 840 EU member since 1986
SLOVENIA Area: 20 273 km2
Population: 2 055 496 EU member since 2004
SLOVAKIA Area: 49 036 km2
Population: 5 404 322 EU member since 2004
FINLAND Area: 338 432 km2
Population: 5 401 267 EU member since 19951. The non-government-controlled area in the north of Cyprus does not currently apply EU legislation and does not use the euro.
EURO-AREA COUNTRIES
BULGARIA Area: 110 899 km2
Population: 7 327 224 EU member since 2007 Currency: lev (BGN)
CZECH REPUBLIC Area: 78 866 km2
Population: 10 505 445 EU member since 2004 Currency: Czech koruna (CZK)
CROATIA Area: 87 661 km2
Population: 4 398 150 EU member since 2013 Currency: Croatian kuna (HRK)
LATVIA Area: 64 562 km2
Population: 2 041 763 EU member since 2004 Currency: lats (LVL) in ERM II since 2 May 2005
LITHUANIA Area: 65 300 km2
Population: 3 007 758 EU member since 2004 Currency: litas (LTL) in ERM II since 28 June 2004
HUNGARY Area: 93 023 km2
Population: 9 957 731 EU member since 2004 Currency: forint (HUF)
POLAND Area: 312 679 km2
Population: 38 538 447 EU member since 2004 Currency: zloty (PLN)
ROMANIA Area: 238 390 km2
Population: 21 355 849 EU member since 2007 Currency: leu (RON)
SWEDEN Area: 438 575 km2
Population: 9 482 855 EU member since 1995 Currency: krona (SEK)
EU MEMBER STATES THAT HAVE YET TO ADOPT THE EURO
DENMARK Area: 42 894 km2
(excluding the Faroe Islands) Population: 5 580 516 EU member since 1973 Currency: Danish krone (DKK) in ERM II since 1 January 1999
UNITED KINGDOM Area: 248 527 km2
Population: 62 989 551 EU member since 1973 Currency: pound sterling (GBP)
All population fi gures Eurostat 2012.
EU MEMBER STATES WITH AN OPT-OUT FROM THE EURO
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 201320122011
GreeceSlovenia
Cyprus
Malta
Slovakia
Estonia
Banknotes
and coins
SHARE OF INDIVIDUAL COUNTRIES IN TOTAL EU GDP
THE EURO – A GLOBAL CURRENCY
The euro is the second largest reserve currency in the world, a� er the US dollar. Around 24% of worldwide reserves are now held in euro.
It is the second most actively traded currency in the world, used in around 20% of daily transac-tions on foreign exchange markets.
Euro-area countries
EU Member States that have yet to adopt the euro
EU Member States with an opt-out from the euro
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This map is provided for general information only. In spite of the European Commission’s best eff orts, this map may contain inconsistencies due to the scale and resolution of the image. The Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made by any third party of any information in this map.
ec.europa.eu/economy_fi nance/general/index_en.htm
© European Union, 2013
Source: Eurostat, 2012.
(*) relative size compared to EU total = 100%
(*) Not including Croatia. (**) Excluding intra-EU trade. (***) 2011 and 2012 n/a.
Sources: European Commission AMECO, IMF WEO and IMF DOTS.
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25%
GermanyFrance
ItalySpain
NetherlandsBelgiumAustriaFinlandGreece
PortugalIreland
SlovakiaLuxembourg
SloveniaCyprusEstonia
MaltaSwedenPoland
Czech RepublicRomaniaHungary
Croatia (*)Bulgaria
LithuaniaLatvia
United KingdomDenmark
KEY INDICATORS(2012)
Euro area(17)
EU (28) United States
Japan China
Population (millions) 333.4 508.1 314.2 127.6 1 353.8
GDP (in € trillions calculated at purchasing power parity)
7.96 11.25 (*) 10.96 3.23 8.67
Share of world GDP(% at PPP)
13.7 19.4 (*) 18.9 5.6 15.0
Exports(goods as % of GDP)
13.83 (**) 13.29 (*)(**) 9.88 12.96 n/a (***)
Imports(goods as % of GDP)
14.09 (**) 14.04 (*)(**) 14.72 14.41 n/a (***)
Greece
Banknotes
EuropeanCommission
SHARE OF GLOBAL GDP
Rest of the world
China
United States
European Union
Euro area
Japan
19.4%
41.1%
5.6%15%
18.9%
13.7%
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