Euro Zone
The eurozone is a group formed by the nineteen European Union member states that have adopted the euro as their official currency. The eurozone was created on January 1, 1999. The countries included in the eurozone are: Germany, Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, and Portugal.
Since the creation of the eurozone, the monetary policy of the member states has become the responsibility of the European Central Bank (ECB), an independent entity created for this purpose, as well as of the national central banks of the member states that have adopted the euro. Taxation policy continues to be controlled by the national governments.