the.com/eurozone
One currency, twenty countries, zero agreement on what to do with it.
means The group of European Union countries that have adopted the euro as their official currency and share a single monetary policy.
from A straightforward blend of 'Europe' plus 'zone,' coined in the late 20th century as the euro moved from financial plan to physical currency. 'Euro' itself is a shortening of 'European,' and 'zone' simply marks the bordered territory where the rules apply — the word arrived exactly as plainly as the currency's launch in 1999 and its coins and notes in 2002, with no deeper mystery than bureaucratic naming convenience.
- members
- 20 of 27 EU countries use the euro
- no treasury
- shares a currency, not a budget
- founding year
- launched 1999, cash arrived 2002
- crisis flaw
- one interest rate for wildly different economies