Enlargement of the eurozone The eurozone ( pronunciation ), officially the euro area, is an economic and monetary union (EMU) of 16 European Union (EU) member states which have adopted the euro currency as their sole legal tender. It currently consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, is at present a continuing process within the European Union The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 member states, located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the European Communities. With over 500 million citizens, the EU combined generates an estimated 30% share (US$ 18.4 (EU). All member states of the EU A Member State of the European Union is any one of the 27 sovereign states that have acceded to the European Union since its de facto inception in 1951 as the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC). From an original membership of six states, there have been six successive enlargements, the largest occurring on 1 May 2004, when ten states joined, except for Denmark Denmark (pronounced /ˈdɛnmɑrk/ ; Danish: Danmark, pronounced [ˈd̥ænmɑɡ̊], archaic: [ˈd̥anmɑːɡ̊]) is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders, the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland[note 7] is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK with a land border, sharing and de facto De facto is a Latin expression that means "by [the] fact". In law, it is meant to mean "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but without being officially established". It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or technique (such Sweden c. ^ Since July 1, 2009 Five other languages are officially recognized as minority languages. They are: , are obliged to adopt the euro The euro is the official currency of the European Union, and is currently in use in 16 of the 27 Member States. The states, known collectively as the Eurozone, are Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovak republic, Slovenia and Spain. The currency is also used as their sole currency when they meet the criteria. This includes two years in the European Exchange Rate Mechanism The European Exchange Rate Mechanism, ERM, was a system introduced by the European Community in March 1979, as part of the European Monetary System , to reduce exchange rate variability and achieve monetary stability in Europe, in preparation for Economic and Monetary Union and the introduction of a single currency, the euro, which took place on 1 (ERM II) and keeping inflation inline with the EU average.
Following on from the 11 EU states who were part of the initial introduction in 1999 The introduction of the euro took place principally between 31 December 1998, when the exchange rates between the euro and legacy currencies in the eurozone became fixed, and early 2002, when euro notes and coins were introduced and the legacy currencies withdrawn: Greece Greece /ˈɡriːs/ (Greek: Ελλάδα, transliterated: Elláda [e̞ˈlaða] , historically Ἑλλάς, Hellás, IPA: [(h)e̞ˈl(ː)as]), also known as Hellas and officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία, Ellīnikī́ Dīmokratía, [e̞liniˈkʲi ðimokraˈtia]), is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the joined in 2001 before the coins and notes were released and the national currencies were retired for good; Slovenia Slovenia /sloʊˈviːniə/ , officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: Republika Slovenija, listen (help·info)) /reˈpublika sloˈveːnija/, is a country in Central Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy on the west, the Adriatic Sea on the southwest, Croatia on the south and east, Hungary on the joined on 1 January 2007; Cyprus Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus (Greek: Κυπριακή Δημοκρατία, Kypriakī́ Dīmokratía, [kʲipɾiaˈkʲi ðimo̞kɾaˈtia]; Turkish: Kıbrıs Cumhuriyeti), is a Eurasian island country in the Eastern Mediterranean, south of Turkey and west of Syria and Lebanon. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and and Malta Malta /ˈmɔːltə/ , officially the Republic of Malta (Maltese: Repubblika ta' Malta), is a developed southern European country and consists of an archipelago situated centrally in the Mediterranean, 93 km south of Sicily and 288 km north-east of Tunisia, with Gibraltar 1,826 km to the west and Alexandria 1,510 km to the east joined on 1 January 2008; and Slovakia The Slovak Republic (short form: Slovakia /sloʊˈvɑːkiə/ ; Slovak: Slovensko (help·info), long form Slovenská republika (help·info)) is a landlocked country in Central Europe with a population of over five million and an area of about 49000 square kilometres (19,000 sq mi). Slovakia borders the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland joined on 1 January 2009.[1]
Out of the remaining states, the earliest expected accession would take place in 2011, though most states will not meet the criteria to join until around 2013. Denmark, which has an opt-out, is considering holding a referendum on joining, though the United Kingdom and Sweden are maintaining their current opposition to joining the eurozone. Iceland Iceland ( /ˈaɪslənd/ ) (Icelandic: Ísland (names of Iceland); IPA: [ˈislant]) is a European island country located in the North Atlantic Ocean. It has a population of about 320,000 and a total area of 103,000 km². Its capital and largest city is Reykjavík, whose surrounding area is home to some two-thirds of the national population. Located on the other hand may join the EU rapidly, potentially in 2011, to adopt the euro. Estonia Estonia /ɛsˈtoʊniə/ (Estonian: Eesti), officially the Republic of Estonia (Estonian: Eesti Vabariik), is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia (343 km), and to the east by the Russian Federation (338.6 km). The territory of Estonia covers 45,227 is currently the only state with a chance of adopting in the short term. It is expected to be ready for 2011 and is meeting the criteria, although the final decision is yet to be made.[2]
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brain drain` To fight a prospective decrease in labour market flexibility politics must focus on labour legislation trade unions wage flexibilty workers flows and job flows Scholars of the University of Bologna Renzo Orsi Fabrizio Iacone Riccardo Rovelli Roberto Golinelli during the panel session on Exchange Rate Regimes discussed inflation and
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ue, 19 May 2009 15:33:39 GM
Euobserver / brussels . EU enlargement. commissioner Olli Rehn on Tuesday (19 May) confirmed he had received Slovenia's response to his latest proposal aimed at solving the long-standing border dispute between Croatia and Slovenia, ...
