Title: Economy of the European Union - Wikipedia
Headings: Economy of the European Union
Economy of the European Union
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Economy of the European Union
Contents
Currency
Budget
Sectors
Services
Agriculture
Tourism
Energy
Companies
Economies of member states
Wealth
EU member states by GDP (nominal) in billions of €
Labour market
Unemployment rate
Unemployment rate by country (base month is March of each year)
Economic freedom
Public finance
Trade
Main trading partners (2016)
Regional variation
NUTS-1 and NUTS-2 regions
See also
References
External links

Content: Contents
1 Currency
2 Budget
3 Sectors
3.1 Services
3.2 Agriculture
3.3 Tourism
3.4 Energy
4 Companies
5 Economies of member states
5.1 Wealth
5.2 Labour market
5.2.1 Unemployment rate
5.2.2 Economic freedom
5.3 Public finance
6 Trade
7 Regional variation
7.1 NUTS-1 and NUTS-2 regions
8 See also
9 References
10 External links
Currency
Main articles: Euro, Eurozone, and Single Euro Payments Area
The Eurozone or euro area (dark blue) represents 343 million people. The euro is the second-largest reserve currency in the world. Beginning in the year 1999 with some EU member states, now 19 out of 27 EU states use the euro as official currency in a currency union. The remaining 8 states continued to use their own currency with the possibility to join the euro later. The euro is also the most widely used currency in the EU. Since 1992 the Maastricht Treaty sets out rigid economic and fiscal convergence criteria for the states joining the euro. Starting 1997, the Stability and Growth Pact has been started to ensure continuing economic and fiscal stability and convergence. Denmark is not a part of the eurozone due to its special opt-outs concerning the later joining of the euro. In contrast, Sweden can effectively opt out by choosing when or whether to join the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, which is the preliminary step towards joining.