Six new countries could soon join the eurozone and spark a big economic shift for the European Union.
There are currently 20 countries that have the euro as their official currency: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Spain.
The seven non-eurozone members of the EU are Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Sweden.
But the European Commission has issued an update on six countries that could soon adopt the euro.
They are: Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Sweden.
All EU countries except Denmark have legally committed to joining the eurozone.
In its latest update, the European Commission outlined the various stages each country is at.
They said:
- Price stability: fulfilled by Sweden
- Public finances: fulfilled by Bulgaria and Sweden, Czechia is expected to fulfil it
- Long-term interest rate: fulfilled by Bulgaria, Czechia and Sweden
- Exchange rate: fulfilled by Bulgaria.
The progress reports are published every two years.
Croatia was the most recent country to join the Eurozone, doing so in 2023.
The currency is the second most used worldwide with 350 million making payments with euros every day.
The European Union will be hoping that new eurozone members will help boost the monetary bloc.
This week, the European Central Bank warned that weak growth is plaguing the Eurozone.
They said: “Elevated debt levels and high budget deficits, coupled with weak long-term growth- potential and policy uncertainty, increase the risk that fiscal slippage will reignite market concerns over sovereign debt sustainability.”
ECB Vice President Luis de Guindos added: “The outlook for financial stability is clouded by heightened macro-financial and geopolitical uncertainty together with rising trade policy uncertainty.”
