Definition of the Eurozone

The Eurozone is the term used for the 17 members of the European Union who use the Euro as their currency. As of June 2012 the countries which are part of the Euro Zone are:

• Austria
• Belgium
• Cyprus
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Ireland
• Italy
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• Netherlands
• Portugal
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain

The Eurozone came into being on January 1st, 1999 with the currency union being established on January 1st, 2002. Since the 2008 financial crisis, the Eurozone has gradually been slipping into a financial crisis of it's own, being led by sovereign debt problems in the PIIGS (Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece, Spain). Portugal, Ireland and Greece have all had sovereign bailouts financed by the IMF and ECB, with government bond yields rising to worrying levels in Italy and Spain.