Eurozone

The Euro area (also called Euro zone or Eurosystem) is the subset of European Union member states which have adopted the Euro (€) currency, creating a currency union.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Official members

There are 12 members in the eurozone: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France (except pacific territories using CFP franc), Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The European Central Bank is responsible for the monetary policy within the eurozone.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Nations with formal agreements with the EU

Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City also use the euro, although they are not officially euro members nor members of the EU. (They previously used currencies that were replaced by the euro.) They now mint their own coins, with their own national symbols on the reverse. These countries use the euro by virtue of agreements concluded with EU member states (Italy in the case of San Marino and Vatican City, France in the case of Monaco), on behalf of the European Community.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Nations without formal agreements with the EU

Andorra does not have an official currency and hence no specific euro coins. It previously used the French franc and Spanish peseta as de facto legal tender currency. There has never been a monetary arrangement with either Spain or France; however, the EU and Andorra are currently in negotiations regarding the official status of the Euro in Andorra. According to Andorran officials, Andorra will mint its own Euro coins for the first time in 2006.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Likewise, Montenegro and Kosovo, which used to have the German mark as their de facto currency, also adopted the euro without having entered into any legal arrangements with the EU explicitly permitting them to do so. They use the euro instead of the Serbian dinar, mainly for political reasons.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As of 1 December 2002, North Korea has replaced the US dollar with the euro as its official currency for international trading. (Its internal currency, the won, is not convertible and thus cannot be used to purchase foreign goods.) The euro also enjoys popularity domestically, especially among resident foreigners.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Euro: :For other uses, see (disambiguation) or EUR (disambiguation)....

Currency union: A currency union is where two or more states share the same currency, though without there necessarily having any further integration as would be characterised by an Economic and Monetary Union, which involves economic integration to the point of a single market....

Austria: The Republic of Austria (German: Republik ?sterreich) is a landlocked country in central Europe. It borders Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west. The capital is the city of Vienn...