EU enlargement and the €
On 1 May 2004 the European Union welcomed ten new Member States:
- Cyprus;
- Czech Republic;
- Estonia;
- Hungary;
- Latvia;
- Lithuania;
- Malta;
- Poland;
- Slovakia; and
- Slovenia
Two years and eight months later, on 1 January 2007, the EU welcomed Bulgaria and Romania.
New countries will adopt the euro only once they meet certain financial criteria, namely a high degree of price stability, sound fiscal position, stable exchange rate and converged long-term interest rates. The current euro area members had to fulfill the same criteria.
Euro banknotes and coins were introduced on 1 January 2002 in 12 of the EU 15 Member States. Since then, the euro has been adopted by Slovenia (1 January 2007), Cyprus and Malta (1 January 2008) and Slovakia (1 January 2009). The euro area now comprises 16 countries.
1. Cyprus
On 10 July 2007, the European Council approved Cyprus' request to join the euro area on 1 January 2008.
On 1 January 2008 the euro was adopted as legal tender in Cyprus, replacing the Cypriot pound (CYP) at the irrevocably fixed exchange rate of:
€1 = CYP 0.585274
As of 1 February 2008, only euro banknotes and coins can be used for cash payments in Cyprus.
CYP coins will be exchanged for euro by the Central Bank of Cyprus until 31 December 2009 and CYP banknotes until 31 December 2017.
For more information: Central Bank of Cyprus.
2. Malta
On 10 July 2007, the European Council approved Malta's request to join the euro area on 1 January 2008.
On 1 January 2008 the euro was adopted as legal tender in Malta, replacing the Maltese lira (MTL) at the irrevocably fixed exchange rate of:
€1 = MTL 0,429300
As of 1 February 2008, only euro banknotes and coins can be used for cash payments in Malta.
Bank Ċentrali ta’ Malta/Central Bank of Malta will continue to exchange MTL banknotes until 31 January 2018 and MTL coins until 1 February 2010.
For more information:Bank Ċentrali ta’ Malta/Central Bank of Malta.
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On 8 July 2008, the European Council approved Slovakia's request to join the euro area on 1 January 2009.
On 1 January 2009, the euro was adopted as legal tender in Slovakia, replacing the Slovakian koruna (SKK) at the irrevocably fixed exchange rate of:
€1 = SKK 30,1260
As of 17 January 2009, only euro banknotes and coins can be used for cash payments in Slovakia, but banks will continue to exchange SKK banknotes until the end of 2009 and SKK coins until the end of June 2009, on the basis of the fixed exchange rate.
Národná banka Slovenska will exchange SKK banknotes indefinitely and SKK coins until the end of 2013.
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Former national banknotes and coins can be exchanged for euro, after they cease to be legal tender, by the relative National Central Bank. The ECB does not exchange any banknotes or coins. For more information, click here.