On January 1st, Bulgaria will officially stop circulating the lev and become the 21st European country to use the euro.
This Balkan nation with 6.7 million people has been an EU member since January 1, 2007 and joined the Schengen Area in March 2024.
This means that only 6 countries out of 27 EU member states still use their own currencies: Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Sweden.
The euro is the official currency of the EU, playing the role of a unified currency for member states, promoting easier trade and travel between countries in the bloc.
About 350 million people use the euro, helping the euro become the official currency used in the largest countries and also the currency traded, the second largest reserve in the world after the USD.
The euro is managed by the European Central Bank and Eurosystem. Euro banknotes have 6 different denominations, with banknotes designed to symbolize European architecture.
The euro also has its 7th denomination, the 500 euro bill, which stopped issuing in 2019 but is still considered a legal currency.
Euro banknotes are the same, but coins have one side bearing the symbol of the member state chosen by each country.
The EU consists of 27 countries in Europe, established in 1993 to promote cooperation, free trade and common policies across the continent. Most EU member states are required to use the euro after meeting certain economic criteria. Eurozone countries are collectively referred to as the euro area.
Denmark is the only member country currently having an agreement not to officially join the euro zone, negotiated in the 1992 Edinburgh Agreement, meaning that this country has no legal obligation to join the euro zone.
Before being able to join the euro zone, member states must spend at least 2 years in the European Exchange Rate Mechanism II (ERM II). During this time, the national currency is anchored to the euro. If the currency fluctuates too much during this time, that country cannot join the euro-using bloc.
In addition to EU member countries, 4 small countries, Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican City, also have official agreements to use the euro as their official currency even though it does not belong to the EU.
The euro was introduced into the financial market as an accounting currency on January 1, 1999. Coins and physical paper money began circulation on January 1, 2002 and completely replaced the national currency in March of the same year.
The euro was first applied by 11 countries in 1999, including: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.
In 2001, Greece joined the euro zone on January 1, becoming the first country to adopt the common currency after its introduction.
From 2007-2009, Slovenia, Cyprus, Malta, Slovakia joined. From 2011-2015, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania. Croatia joined in 2023.
