February 12, 2023February 17, 2023 Do all EU members have to adopt the euro? Do all EU members have to adopt the euro? All EU Member States, except Denmark, are required to adopt the euro and join the euro area, once they are ready to fulfil them. Which EU countries have not adopted the euro? Eight countries (Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Sweden) are EU members but do not use the euro. Before joining the eurozone, a state must spend at least two years in the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II). Are all European countries required to join the EU? Joining the EU Any country that satisfies the conditions for membership can apply. These conditions are known as the ‘Copenhagen criteria’ and include a free-market economy, a stable democracy and the rule of law, and the acceptance of all EU legislation, including of the euro. Why did Denmark not adopt the euro? The Maastricht Treaty of 1992 required that EU member states join the euro. However, the treaty gave Denmark the right to opt out from participation, which they subsequently did following a referendum on in which Danes rejected the treaty. … As the result, Denmark is not required to join the eurozone. Would the UK have to adopt the euro? Since the UK has withdrawn from the EU, euro adoption is practically impossible. Even if government and or public opinion were to change, the EU’s position is that third countries would only adopt the euro through membership of the EU. Do new EU members have to join Schengen? New EU member states do not sign the Schengen Agreement as such, instead being bound to implement the Schengen rules as part of the pre-existing body of EU law, which every new entrant is required to accept. Do all EU countries have to adopt the euro by 2022? All EU members which have joined the bloc since the signing of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 are legally obliged to adopt the euro once they meet the criteria, since the terms of their accession treaties make the provisions on the euro binding on them. Why doesn’t Sweden use the euro? Sweden does not currently use the euro as its currency and has no plans to replace the existing Swedish krona in the near future. Sweden’s Treaty of Accession of 1994 made it subject to the Treaty of Maastricht, which obliges states to join the eurozone once they meet the necessary conditions. How many countries in Europe are not in the EU? 23 countries Currently, 23 countries located in the continent of Europe, are not part of the European Union. Which countries have applied for EU membership? There are five recognised candidates for membership of the European Union: Turkey (applied in 1987), North Macedonia (applied in 2004), Montenegro (applied in 2008), Albania (applied in 2009) and Serbia (applied in 2009). All have started accession negotiations. Is the UK going to have to adopt the Euro? Reality Check verdict: This is incorrect. The UK, were it to be an EU member then, and Denmark have opt-outs which give them the right not to join the euro. A five-year old newspaper headline – claiming that all European Union (EU) countries would have to adopt the euro after 2020 – was widely shared on Twitter over the weekend. Do you have to be part of the EU to use the Euro? To be part of the Union, once the countries meet all of the conditions, it is mandatory for them to adopt the Euro. Some of the countries in the EU that have not yet adopted the Euro are waiting until their economies are ready. Can a country opt out of the Euro? The short answer is no. Some European Union countries have negotiated “opt-outs” in areas of EU policy they do not want to join. In the case of the UK and Denmark, these opt-outs include membership of the euro currency. When did Romania want to join the EU? Romania joined the European Union in 2007, stating that it was planning to adopt the Euro by 2019. Because of the worldwide economic slump of 2008, the plan was pushed back further to 2022, and currently, the projected date of joining is in 2024, but many say this target is ambitious. Questions