In Europe they exist 4 States That they use the euro as currency official, despite not being part of the European Union: perhaps we never realized it due to a matter of habit, but it will certainly have happened to us Italians at least once in our lives to visit two of these countries. It is in fact about San Marino And Vatican Citywhich together with Andorra et al Principality of Monaco they use Euros as their currency.
But how is all this possible if the euro is the single currency adopted by EU members? The answer lies in the fact that these micro-states have signed formal agreements with the European Union, which allow them not only to use the euro, but also to mint money and create their own national faces. As we all know, each euro coin has a common side, which indicates the value, and a national side, specific to the issuing country. More specifically, as reported by the ECB:
- Andorra signed a monetary agreement with the European Union on 30 June 2011. Among the national faces are the Casa de la Vallancient seat of Parliament, and the heraldic coat of arms of Andorra.
- Vatican City has the right to use the euro as currency since January 1, 1999, but issued the first series with Pope John Paul II between 2002 and 2005. So far the smallest state in the world has issued 5 series of national faces, of which the last one with the coat of arms of Pope Francis.
- Also the Principality of Monaco issued the first series in 2002. Today, in total, there are three series produced, featuring the effigies of Prince Rainier III and Prince Albert II.
- Same story too San Marinowhich has been using the euro since 2002: the two series of the coin portray the Palazzo Pubblico, seat of government, the Santo Marino and the official coat of arms.
In addition to these 4 countries, Kosovo and Montenegro also use the euro as currency de facto: in this case, in fact, no formal agreements have been stipulated with the European Community. Of the 27 member countries of the EUinstead, alone 21 they adopted the euro as a national currency.
Small fun fact: euros can be used in all the countries of the Eurozone and also in their own overseas territories. In practice, this means that our currency is also used in regions very far from us, such as French Guiana And Saint-Barthélemy (located in Latin America and the Caribbean, but part of France), the island The Reunion (French overseas territory in the Indian Ocean), Ceuta and Melilla (geographically in Morocco, but part of Spain) and the Azores and Canary Islands in the Atlantic (the first parts of Portugal, the second of Spain).
