Monetary Union

In economics, a monetary union is a situation where several countries have agreed to share a single currency amongst themselves. The European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) consists of three stages coordinating economic policy and culminating with the adoption of the euro, the EU's single currency. All member states of the European Union are expected to participate in the EMU. Sixteen member states of the European Union have entered the third stage and have adopted the euro as their currency. The United Kingdom, Denmark and Sweden have not accepted the third stage and the three EU members still use their own currency today. The Copenhagen criteria is the newest set of conditions of entry for states wanting to join the EU. It contains the requirements that need to be fulfilled and the time framework within which this must be done in order for a country to join the monetary union. The 10 new countries that acceded to the European Union in 2004 all intend to join third stage of the EMU in the next ten years, though the precise timing depends on various economic factors. To date, four of these countries have done so, Slovenia (1 January 2007), Cyprus and Malta (1 January 2008), and Slovakia (1 January 2009). Similarly, those countries who are currently negotiating for entry will also take the euro as their currency in the years following their accession. (See Enlargement of the European Union.)