Instruct: Given a question, retrieve relevant documents that can help answer the question.
Query: Which EU countries don't use the Euro?
Nine countries (Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Sweden, and the United Kingdom) are EU members but do not use the euro. Before joining the eurozone, a state must spend two years in the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II). As of January 2017, only the National Central Bank (NCB) of Denmark participates in ERM II.
With the adoption of the euro by Cyprus per 1 January 2008, the Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia, which had previously used the Cypriot pound, also decided to adopt the euro. The base areas are an overseas territory of the United Kingdom, an EU member state which itself does not use the euro, but these bases are outside of the EU and under military jurisdiction. Their laws and currency have been aligned with those of the Republic of Cyprus, leading to the euro's adoption in the two areas.
The euro is present in some elements of Swedish law, based on EU directives. For example, an EU directive states that all transactions in euros inside the EU shall have the same fees as euro transactions within the country concerned. 
The Swedish government has made an amendment which states that the directive also applies to krona-based transactions. This means, for example, that euros can be withdrawn without fees from Swedish banks at any ATM in the eurozone, and that krona- and euro-based transfers to bank accounts in the European Economic Area can be done over the internet without a sending fee. The receiving banks can still sometimes charge a fee for receiving the payment, though, although the same EU directive typically makes this impossible for euro-based transfers to eurozone countries. This is different from, for example, Denmark where banks are required to set the price for international euro transactions within the EEA to the same price as for domestic Danish euro transactions (which does not have to be the same as the price for domestic Danish krone transactions). However, banks in Sweden still decide the exchange rate, and so are able to continue charging a small percentage for exchanging between kronor and euros when using card payments.
The EU insists on the strict adherence to convergence criteria (such as spending at least 2 years in the ERMII system) which are not negotiable before euro adoption, but have not intervened to stop the unilateral use of the euro by Montenegro. The EU has raised concerns of Montenegro's state debt, which had risen to 57 percent of GDP by 2011.
In 2009 the authors of a confidential International Monetary Fund (IMF) report suggested that in light of the ongoing global financial crisis, the EU Council should consider granting new EU member states which are having difficulty complying with all five convergence criteria the option to "partially adopt" the euro, along the lines of the monetary agreements signed with the European microstates outside the EU. These states would gain the right to adopt the euro and issue a national variant of euro coins, but would not get a seat in ECB or the Eurogroup until they met all the convergence criteria. However, the EU has not made use of this alternative accession process.
The W, K and J codes have been reserved for the three EU member states that did not adopt the euro in 1999, while the R prefix is reserved for Luxembourg, which, at present, does not issue euro banknotes. The first series of uncirculated notes from Luxembourg use the prefix belonging to the country where they were printed.
Except for the two states with opt outs, all current and future members of the EU are obliged to adopt the Euro as their currency, thus replacing their current ones. The relationship between euro and non-euro states has been on debate both during the UK's membership (as a large opt-out state) and in light of withdrawal from the EU and how that impacts the balance of power between those in and out of the euro; namely avoiding a eurozone caucus out-voting non-euro states. The UK had called for the EU treaties to recognise the EU as a "multicurrency union", which sparked concerns about undermining euro adoption in remaining countries.
Full EMU membership is only open to EU member states. However, the European microstates of Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican City, which due to their small size are not members of the EU, have signed monetary agreements with EU which allow them officially to adopt the euro and issue their own variant of euro coins. These states had all previously used one of the eurozone currencies replaced by the euro, or a currency pegged to one of them. These states are not members of the eurozone and do not get a seat in the European Central Bank (ECB) or the Eurogroup.
Translation requirements as well as the requirement to pay yearly patent fees in all countries in which a European patent is designated, presently renders the European patent system costly in the European Union. In an impact assessment the European Commission estimated that the costs of obtaining a patent in all 27 EU countries would drop from over 32 000 euro (mainly due to translation costs) to 6 500 euro (for the combination of an EU, Spanish and Italian patent) due to introduction of the EU patent. Per capita costs of an EU patent were estimated at just 6 euro/million in the original 25 participating countries (and 12 euro/million in the 27 EU countries for protection with an EU, Italian and Spanish patent).
Croatia's EU membership obliges it to eventually join the eurozone, as such the country plans to join the European Monetary System, the pathway to euro adoption. Prior to Croatian entry to the EU on 1 July 2013, Boris Vujčić, governor of the Croatian National Bank, stated that he would like the kuna to be replaced by the euro as soon as possible after accession. This must be at least two years after Croatia joins the ERM2 (in addition to it meeting other criteria). The Croatian National Bank had anticipated euro adoption within two or three years of EU entry. However, the EU's response to the ongoing financial crises in eurozone states may delay Croatia's adoption of the euro. The country's own contracting economy also poses a major challenge to it meeting the convergence criteria. While keen on euro adoption, one month before Croatia's EU entry governor Vujčić admitted "...we have no date [to join the single currency] in mind at the moment". Before Croatia can join ERM II, it must reduce its budget deficit by about 1.5 billion kuna (June 2013 figures). The European Central Bank was expecting Croatia to be approved for ERM II membership in 2016 at the earliest, with euro adoption in 2019.
There are some non-EU members who have elected to use the euro as their national currency like Kosovo and Montenegro, either with or without specific agreements with the EU to do so, (those with agreements with the EU may mint their own euro coins). The French overseas territories and departments of Mayotte and Réunion in the Indian Ocean, Guadeloupe and Martinique in the Caribbean and French Guiana in South America all use the euro, among many other islands in the Pacific, Caribbean and indeed around the globe that are ruled directly by European countries.
Outside the eurozone, a total of 22 countries and territories that do not belong to the EU have currencies that are directly pegged to the euro including 14 countries in mainland Africa (CFA franc), two African island countries (Comorian franc and Cape Verdean escudo), three French Pacific territories (CFP franc) and three Balkan countries, Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark), Bulgaria (Bulgarian lev) and Macedonia (Macedonian denar). On 28 July 2009, São Tomé and Príncipe signed an agreement with Portugal which will eventually tie its currency to the euro. Additionally, the Moroccan dirham is tied to a basket of currencies, including the euro and the US dollar, with the euro given the highest weighting.
No territories associated with Eurozone countries are issuing their own euro coins. France and Netherlands have areas which have their own currencies. Denmark and the United Kingdom have areas which use the currencies of their home countries but issue their own versions of banknotes. These two countries are part of the EU but not the eurozone, and it is uncertain what would happen if any of them adopted the euro.
SEPA guarantees that euro payments are received within a guaranteed time, and banks are not allowed to make any deductions of the amount transferred, introduced by a regulation in year 2001. Banks and payment institutions still have the option of charging a credit-transfer fee of their choice for euro transfers if it is charged uniformly to all EEA participants, banks or payment institutions, domestic or foreign. This is relevant for countries which do not use the euro; domestic transfers in euro by consumers are uncommon, and inflated fees might be charged. Sweden and Denmark have legislated that euro transfers shall be charged the same as transfers in their own currency; which has the effect of giving free euro ATM withdrawals, but charges for ATM withdrawals in other currencies used in the EU.
It is unclear how Kosovo's unilateral use of the euro will impact their aspirations for further integration into the EU, which requires that states meet several convergence criteria prior to being allowed to join the eurozone. Montenegro, like Kosovo, has also unilaterally adopted the euro and is currently conducting membership negotiations with the EU. Since Montenegro's application for membership, the European Commission and the ECB have voiced their discontent over its use of the euro on several occasions. A statement attached to its Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU read: "unilateral introduction of the euro was not compatible with the Treaty." The issue is expected to be resolved through the negotiations process. The ECB has stated that the implications of unilateral euro adoption "would be spelled out at the latest in the event of possible negotiations on EU accession." Diplomats have suggested that it is unlikely Montenegro will be forced to withdraw the euro from circulation in their country.
Andorra did not have an official currency before adopting the euro, and unlike its two larger neighbours, France and Spain, which surround it, it is not a member of the EU. However it "de facto" used the EU's euro (the currency of the Eurozone states) as it had historically used the French franc and Spanish peseta. When those two currencies were replaced by the euro in 2002, the euro replaced the franc and peseta as the sole circulating currency in Andorra.
Kosovo is a potential candidate for accession to the EU. The European Commission and the ECB have voiced their discontent over countries unilaterally adopting the euro on several occasions in the past, and it is unclear whether Kosovo would be able to accede to the EU while using the euro. Montenegro, which similarly unilaterally adopted the euro in 2002, had a statement attached to their Stabilisation and Association Agreement with the EU that read: "unilateral introduction of the euro was not compatible with the Treaty." The issue is expected to be resolved through the accession negotiations process, with the ECB having stated that the implications of unilateral euro adoption "would be spelled out at the latest in the event of possible negotiations on EU accession." Diplomats have suggested that it's unlikely countries will be forced to withdraw the euro from circulation.
The most common currency within Europe is the Euro (€), the currency of the European Union. To join, each new EU member must meet certain criteria, when these are met their own currencies will be replaced by the euro. Becoming a member of the EU involves a pledge to work towards Eurozone membership, (except in the cases of the United Kingdom and Denmark who have opt-outs). Currently, 19 of the 28 EU member states use the euro. Each EU member's central bank is part of the European System of Central Banks, and in addition, those that use the euro are part of the European Union's central bank, the European Central Bank.
There are countries which, though not official members of the Eurozone, still use the euro as legal or de facto currency, through official agreements with the EU. These are European microstates which are largely economically dependent on their larger Eurozone-member neighbours.Some other countries unilaterally decided to use the Euro without having currently a formal agreement with the EU.
Outside the EU, there are currently three French territories and a British territory that have agreements to use the euro as their currency. All other dependent territories of eurozone member states that have opted not to be a part of EU, usually with Overseas Country and Territory (OCT) status, use local currencies which are often pegged to the euro or US dollar. As non-sovereign entities, dependent territories which have adopted the euro are not permitted to mint euro coins like the European microstates, nor do they get a seat in the European Central Bank (ECB) or the Eurogroup. France is responsible for ensuring that the laws governing the EMU apply in their territories which use the euro.
However, this decision resulted in public outcry, which resulted in the commission amending its original ruling to state that usage of "euro" is inappropriate for Latvian, and that "eiro" is acceptable as a parallel form, but its use should be limited and it should be dropped over time. The reasoning was explained, that while they still insist on the use of "eira", they acknowledge that a half of users of the language are not content with such a form. They explained that the use of "euro" (and "cent" without nominative ending) is ill-suited to the language because an "eu" diphthong does not exist in Latvian, and orthographic rules discourage spellings that don't reflect pronunciation. Additionally, the "eiro" spelling is closer to "Eiropa", the Latvian word for "Europe".
The euro sign (€) is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the European Union (EU) and other non-EU countries (Kosovo and Montenegro). The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by two lines instead of one. The character is encoded in Unicode at . In English, the sign precedes the value (for instance, €10, not 10 €, unlike most other European languages). In some style guides, the euro sign is not spaced (10€).
The euro is also used in countries outside the EU. Four states – Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City —[10][13] have signed formal agreements with the EU to use the euro and issue their own coins. Nevertheless, they are not considered part of the eurozone by the ECB and do not have a seat in the ECB or Euro Group.
Several European microstates outside the EU have adopted the euro as their currency. For EU sanctioning of this adoption, a monetary agreement must be concluded. Prior to the launch of the euro, agreements were reached with Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City by EU member states (Italy in the case of San Marino and Vatican City, and France in the case of Monaco) allowing them to use the euro and mint a limited amount of euro coins (with their own national symbols on the obverse side) to be valid throughout the Eurozone. However, they cannot print banknotes. All of these states had previously had monetary agreements to use yielded eurozone currencies. The Vatican and San Marino had their currencies pegged to the Italian lira (Vatican and Sammarinese lira) and Monaco used the Monegasque franc, which was pegged to the French franc. Between 2010 and 2012, new agreements between the EU and Monaco, San Marino and the Vatican City came into force.
The member states of the European Union do have many common policies within the EU and on behalf of the EU that are sometimes suggestive of a single state. It has a common executive (the European Commission), a single High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, a common European Security and Defence Policy, a supreme court (European Court of Justicebut only in matters of European Union law) and an intergovernmental research organisation (the EIROforum with members like CERN). The euro is often referred to as the "single European currency", which has been officially adopted by nineteen EU countries while seven other member countries of the European Union have linked their currencies to the euro in ERM II. In addition a number of European territories outside the EU have adopted the euro unofficially such as Montenegro, the Republic of Kosovo, Monaco, San Marino, the Vatican City and Andorra.