Introduction of the euro in the Member States that have not yet adopted the common currency

All European Union Member States are part of the Economic and Monetary Union and as part of this union, these countries coordinate their economic policy-making in order to support and comply with EU aims. In doing so, more than half of the Member States have now replaced their national currency with the euro. The adoption of the euro is a requirement of EU membership, and all Member States must adopt the common currency once they have satisfied the criteria defined in the Maastricht Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (however, this excludes Denmark, which has a specific opt-out from these Treaty provisions, and the UK). There is no fixed timetable for the introduction of the euro in the Member States that have not yet adopted the common currency, but the Treaty does require them to join the euro area at an undefined date in the future. These countries are Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Sweden. Of the countries that joined the EU in or after 2004, Slovenia, Cyprus and Malta joined the euro area in 2007 and 2008; Slovakia followed in January 2009; Estonia joined in January 2011; Latvia joined in 2014; and Lithuania adopted the currency on 1 January 2015. Having joined the European Union in 1995, at least nine years prior to the other countries in this survey, attitudes and opinions are occasionally quite different for Sweden. Therefore, the average that comprises all seven countries should be compared to previous editions of this study with caution. This survey is the 19th in a series that began in 2004 and has helped the European Commission to track opinions, levels of knowledge and familiarity with the single currency among EU citizens regarding the future introduction of the common currency.