New countries joining the EU are obliged to adopt the euro once they meet the economic requirements. Only some of the pre-euro members have negotiated an opt-out.
Also note that the article doesn’t claim the euro as essential feature for every country’s EU membership, it just says it’s essential for Estonia.
Re:Estonia is planning to launch Estcoin
by ptaipale on Tuesday December 19, 2017 @06:19AM
(#15959362)
That's an irrelevant technicality. In practice, the countries can postpone the adoption of euro indefinitely, simply by refusing to provide evidence for meeting the economic requirements.
This is the strategy of Sweden, for instance, to retain the crown. If Sweden were to meet the criteria it would have to adopt the euro, but it never needs to show that it does meet the criteria, so it can keep its own monetary policy.
(I live in Finland, and while I think euro is personally convenient for me, it has been very bad for my country's economy).
Re:Estonia is planning to launch Estcoin
by osullivj on Tuesday December 19, 2017 @07:04AM
(#15959544)
Good point. UK & Denmark both have formal de jure opt outs, negotiated on launch of the EUR project. Sweden is a de facto opt out. By not entering the ERM trial period and managing SEK into a band with EUR, SE never enters the Eurozone.
Re:Estonia is planning to launch Estcoin
by _fizz_buzz_ on Tuesday December 19, 2017 @10:02AM
(#15960653)
The mismanagement of Nokia has been a much bigger problem for Finland's economy than the Euro ever was.
Re:Estonia is planning to launch Estcoin
by ptaipale on Tuesday December 19, 2017 @03:40PM
(#15964043)
Hardly. Even if it is big, it is just one company. A country's economic policy cannot be based on expecting perfect performance from one company. Saying it is more significant than abandoning the possibility of own monetary policy sounds like full-scale whataboutism.
It's not false as it says our EU membership, as opposed to every EU membership.
Re:Estonia is planning to launch Estcoin
by freetonik on Tuesday December 19, 2017 @05:41AM
(#15959261)
You're right, but Switzerland is not a member of EU.
Re:Estonia is planning to launch Estcoin
by jaclaz on Tuesday December 19, 2017 @06:28AM
(#15959399)
>You're right, but Switzerland is not a member of EU.
... and UK soon won't be anymore.
Denmark is a better example:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enlargement_of_the_eurozone
And there is of course the "curious" situation of Sweden:
That's just false. Eurozone and the EU overlap, but they aren't the same. UK has its pound, Switzerland uses francs.