Slovenia , First New Member State to convert to the Euro
2007
The Republic of Slovenia became an official member state of the enlarged European Union in May 2004. At that time ten new nations became members of the European Union. Of these, Slovenia is the first new member to have achieved the economic requirements to be allowed to issue euro coins. No specific timetable has been established as to when the other new members will convert fully to the euro currency.
Therefore all Slovenian euro coins will be the first country to have only the new common side for all of the five higher face value coins. The three lower value coins will use the common design first issued in 2002 by the original euro zone states.
The euro currency will replace Slovenia 's current legal tender, the tolar. Each of the eight euro denominated coins from Slovenia will have a different design on the national side: as follows:
2 euro - Honors Slovenia's leading poet France Preseran, 1800- 1849. He composed Slovenia 's national anthem and is considered one of Europe 's leading Romanticists.
1 euro - Primoz Trubar and his motto “to stand and withstand” are featured. He was a protestant reformer who established the Slovenian Protestant Church and consolidated the Slovenian languages.
50 cent - Slovenia 's tallest mountain, Triglav, and a symbol of the country.
20 cent - A pair of Lipizzaner horses. Lipica or Lipizza, located in Slovenia , is where this horse breed was developed.
10 cent - Honors Joze Plecnik the famous Slovenian architect (1872 - 1957) and features his cone shaped concept for the parliament buildings.
5 cent - A painting by Ivan Grohar depicting a sower planting seeds that become stars.
2 cent - The Prince's Stone, the base of an ancient Roman Ionic column used to install Karantanian princes and dukes. Caranthanian or the old Slovenia principality evolved in the 7 th century.
1 cent - A stork commonly found in Slovenia which was also featured on the tolar coinage, the 20 sit coin.
The new circulating euro coins for Slovenia are being struck by the Mint of Finland, a choice determined by a tendering process.
Regarding the other nine nations that became European Union members in 2004 no dates have been fixed for any of them to convert to the euro. Poland has announced that its conversion will not take place before 2011, while Slovakia is targeting 2009 as its conversion year. Interesting though is that all these nations as part of their membership agreement are not allowed to “opt out” of the euro, as was the case for Denmark , Great Britain , and Sweden when the European Union was first established.
The Council of the European Union will lift the derogation, or the exemption from being part of the economic and currency union, the euro zone, once the Council determines that a new member country has met the convergence criteria on a sustainable basis. These criteria amount to several economic measurements such as: rate of inflation, the size of the national debt, and so on. Once that decision has been made, the country must make the changeover within six months.
Of the 10 most recently named EU members, Malta may be the next country to be recognized as having achieved the convergence criteria.
Additional Background Information About Slovenia
Slovenia with a population of about 2 million people, is located on the Pannonian Plain between Hungary to the east, Austria to the north, and Italy to the west. Croatia lies to the south. Slovenia touches the Adriatic sea at its south west corner.
The capital city of Ljubljana is a mid-sized European city with about 300,000 inhabitants. Founded in Roman times, the city now has a predominant style of Italian Baroque architecture. Ljubljana is a city of music and culture as well as an international business center.
The country is proud of its healthy economy and has the highest income per capita of the new EU member states. Old regulations are being evolved and foreign investment is assisting in the healthy growth of its economy.