Further information

The 10 NUTS-1 and NUTS-2 regions with the highest GDP per capita are all in the first fifteen member states: none are in the 12 new member states that joined in May 2004 and January 2007. The NUTS Regulation lays down a minimum population size of 3 million and a maximum size of 7 million for the average NUTS-1 region, whereas a minimum of 800.000 and a maximum of 3 million for NUTS-2 regions ¹ [16]. This definition, however, is not respected by Eurostat. E.g.: the région of Île-de-France, with 11.6 million inhabitants, is treated as a NUTS-2 region, while the state of Bremen, with only 664,000 inhabitants, is treated as a NUTS-1 regionCurrency The official currency of the European Union is the euro, used in all its documents and policies. The Stability and Growth Pact sets out the fiscal criteria to maintain for stability and (economic) convergence. The euro is also the most widely used currency in the EU, which is in use in 16 member states known as the Eurozone. All other member states, apart from Denmark and the United Kingdom which have special opt-outs, have committed to changing over to the euro once they have fulfilled the requirements needed to do so. Although Sweden formally has an effective opt-out by choosing when or whether to join the European Exchange Rate Mechanism which is the preliminary step towards joining. The remaining states are committed to join the Euro through their Treaties of Accession. The operation of the EU has an agreed budget of €116 billion for the year 2007, and €862 billion for the period 2007-2013, this represent around 1% of the EU's GDP.