Conversion rates between national currencies and the euro

KEY POINTS

• To become a member of the euro area, the third stage in the EU’s economic and monetary union, a Member State must meet certain economic and legal conditions known as convergence criteria. These criteria are designed to ensure that countries can demonstrate stability – within certain defined limits – in prices, in their government’s financial position, in exchange rates and in long-term interest rates.
• The regulation has been amended several times to adopt the conversion rates of new countries joining the euro area:
  • Greece in 2001;
  • Slovenia in 2007;
  • Cyprus and Malta in 2008;
  • Slovakia in 2009;
  • Estonia in 2011;
  • Latvia in 2014;
  • Lithuania in 2015;
  • Croatia in 2023.
• According to Article 140 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, the conversion rates between the euro and the currencies of the Member States are set by the Council of the European Union. The Council decides with the unanimity of the euro area countries and the country concerned, acting on a proposal from the European Commission and after consulting the European Central Bank.

The conversion rates are irrevocably fixed.