We use cookies to ensure we give you the best browsing experience on our website. Find out more on how we use cookies and how you can change your settings.
The euro area (also known as the eurozone) consists of those European Union countries which have adopted the euro as their currency.
Introduced in 1999, the euro is the single currency shared by 18 of the European Union's member states. These countries make up the euro area, also known as the eurozone.
The euro area (also known as the eurozone) consists of those European Union countries which have adopted the euro as their currency.
Sharing a single currency means that euro area countries must coordinate their economic and fiscal policies closely – much more so than other EU countries.
Eurogroup President, Jeroen Dijsselbloem, speaking at the Eurogroup press conference in Brussels (21 January 2013)
Euro area members share a single currency. For this reason they need to coordinate their economic policies to ensure coherence and stability in the euro area.
European leaders at the European Council meeting on 23-24 October 2014 in Brussels.
Euro Summit meetings bring together the heads of state or government of the euro area member states, the President of the Euro Summit and the President of the European Commission. The President of the European Central Bank is also invited.
Euro Summit members are also members of the European Council.
Efforts to ensure stability in the euro area and to deepen economic and monetary union are not an end in themselves, but rather a means to revive economic growth and employment in the euro area and across the European Union.
Since 2008, the member states, the euro area and the European Union as a whole have taken a broad range of measures to ensure financial stability, support growth and employment and improve economic governance.
The Stability and Growth Pact governs fiscal discipline in the EU. Its rules aim to contain budget deficits and public debt levels. Although it applies to all EU members, it has stricter enforcement mechanisms for euro area countries.
The Macroeconomic Imbalances Procedure (MIP) aims at preventing and correcting macroeconomic imbalances and to address the causes of persistent economic divergences within the EU. It is part of the European Semester.
A new package of legislation, the Two Pack, entered into force in May 2013. Its objective is to improve the transparency and coordination of euro area member states' budgetary planning and decision making processes.
The euro area (also known as the eurozone) consists of those European Union countries which have adopted the euro as their currency. It currently has 18 member states.