Opting out of the European Currency Union

(http://www.cointalk.org/showpost.php?p=21902&postcount=20)

Except for all the anti-European ranting in that thread maybe ;-) Since I cannot reply directly, let me try it this way. (And if any moderator considers this inappropriate, let me know and I will remove this post again.) The currency union was agreed upon when the members of the European Communities founded the "European Union" in 1992 (Maastricht Treaty). The UK and Denmark, which at that time were members of the Communities, did not want to join the currency union. So instead of saying No to the entire Treaty, they chose to opt out, and did not introduce the euro.

Any country joining the EU after 1992/93 legally did/does not have such an option. But the example of Sweden (which joined in 1995) shows that, if a member state is not willing to introduce the euro, there are ways of staying out nevertheless ... Currently there are, with regard to the European currency, three groups of EU member states:

* the twelve EU countries that use the euro: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain.

* the four EU countries that do not use the euro but have currencies which are tied to the euro via the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM-II): Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania, Slovenia. (Of these four, the Danish krone has a +/-2.25% fluctuation band while the ERM-II default is +/-15%.)

* the nine EU countries that are not part of Euroland and where the local currency is not tied to the euro: Cyprus, Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Sweden, United Kingdom.

* Then there are three small countries that are not EU members but have monetary agreements with the EU and issue euro denominated coins: Monaco, San Marino, and the Vatican.

Christian

 

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Hey, I like Europe. Wonderful cultures and minter of great coins to collect. That was a great clear and concise answer on the E.U. currency. May European Culture continue to thrive and help spread the flame of democracy to the darkest of dictatorships.

 

I never got chance to reply to the other thread properly.

I like this quote;

"minter of great coins to collect"

Would that be before or after the euro was introduced? Just interested, if before then i'd certainly agree with you, if afterwards well the design elements side has become very dull none of which has helped with the use of cheap nasty metals.

The political discusion is over.

Thatcher.

 

Actually Christian i'm interested in the title;

"Opting out of the European Currency Union"

How does a country go about doing this?

 

Hope I can answer that question without getting into a political debate See my first post - back in 1992 there was no currency union yet, so Denmark and the UK had the option to stay out. (The alternative would have been a British/Danish No to the Maastricht Treaty, I suppose.)

Nowadays it is different since the currency union is now part of the "acquis communautaire". But as I wrote, Sweden did (legally) not have the right to "opt out" like DK and the UK did - and yet the country practically opted out, simply by not meeting convergence criteria such as the ERM-II membership.

Christian

 

Hmm there's a thought. Could be a problem in the future too within the Union itself if member countries just kinda opt out unofficially per say.