There are nine currencies of the European Union used officially by member states. The

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

accounts for the majority of the

member states A member state is a state that is a member of an international organization or of a federation or confederation. Since the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) include some members that are not sovereign s ...

with the remainder operating independent monetary policies. Those

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are located primarily in Europe, Europe. The union has a total area of ...

states that have adopted it are known as the

eurozone The euro area, commonly called eurozone (EZ), is a currency union of 19 member states of the European Union (EU) that have adopted the euro (€) as their primary currency and sole legal tender, and have thus fully implemented EMU pol ...

and share the

European Central Bank The European Central Bank (ECB) is the prime component of the monetary Eurosystem and the European System of Central Banks (ESCB) as well as one of seven institutions of the European Union. It is one of the world's most important centra ...

(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 The European System of Central Banks (ESCB) is an institution that comprises the European Central Bank (ECB) and the national central banks (NCBs) of all 27 member states of the European Union (EU). Its objective is to ensure price stability ...

Euro

The euro is the result of the European Union's project for

economic and monetary union An economic and monetary union (EMU) is a type of trade bloc that features a combination of a common market, customs union, and monetary union. Established via a trade pact, an EMU constitutes the sixth of seven stages in the process of economic ...

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 The term opt-out refers to several methods by which individuals can avoid receiving unsolicited product or service information. This option is usually associated with direct marketing campaigns such as e-mail marketing or direct mail. A list of thos ...

in the EU treaties) bound to adopt it. It is the currency used by the

institutions of the European Union The institutions of the European Union are the seven principal decision-making bodies of the European Union and the Euratom. They are, as listed in Article 13 of the Treaty on European Union: * the European Parliament, * the European Coun ...

and in the failed treaty on a European Constitution it was to be included with the

symbols of Europe A number of symbols of Europe have emerged since antiquity, notably the mythological figure of '' Europa''. Several symbols were introduced in the 1950s and 1960s by the European Council. The European Communities created additional symbols f ...

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 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 2017 UK 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 and unofficial currencies used within the borders of the 27 EU Member states: :''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.''

Historic currencies

Notes

References

{{Portal bar, European Union, Money, Numismatics Finance in the European Union

Euro

Current currencies

Historic currencies

See also

Notes

References