The European Union’s official currency – the euro – has marked
its 25th year of life today, on January 1, 2024. It is estimated
that currently, about 350 million citizens use the Euro in 20
countries of the Eurozone, Azernews reports, citing
shengenvisa.info.
Celebrating the Euro’s quarter century of life, a joint opinion
has been published by the President of the European Council Charles
Michel, President of the Eurogroup Paschal Donohoe, President of
the European Central Bank Christine Lagarde, President of the
European Parliament Roberta Metsola, and the President of the EU
Commission Ursula von der Leyen.
In this opinion piece, the officials assert that the Euro has
made life simpler for European citizens, and is today part of an
indispensable part of their daily lives, SchengenVisaInfo.com
reports.
It has made life simpler for European citizens, who can
easily compare prices, trade and travel. It has given us stability,
protecting growth and jobs amid a series of crises. And issuing the
world’s second most important currency has given us greater
sovereignty in a turbulent world. So it is no surprise that the
euro area has grown from 11 to 20 countries since its
foundation.
– Opinion piece by top EU Officials
The EU Heads have also pointed out that support for a single
currency among euro-area citizens is close to record levels.
Currently, there are 20 EU and Schengen Area countries using the
Euro as their official currency: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus,
Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia,
Slovenia, and Spain.
Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City also use the Euro
based on monetary agreements with the EU. At the same time, Kosovo
and Montenegro both have adopted the euro as their currency, in
spite of not being part of the EU or the Schengen Zone yet.
The EU member states which have not yet joined the Eurozone are
Bulgaria, Czechia, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and
Sweden.
The Euro’s 25th year of existence has not been the ideal one, as
the currency marked its lowest trade levels this year near $1.05,
down by three per cent compared to the American dollar in the third
quarter of 2023.
Back in 2022, the Euro had lost 16 per cent of its value against
the dollar and was trading at the lowest since December 2002.
Experts assert that one of the reasons behind the Euro’s
vulnerability in recent years is also the rising oil prices.
—
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