After Bulgaria, other EU countries face hurdles to euro expansion

Bulgaria on Thursday became the 21st member of the eurozone despite opposition from half of its voters, leaving only a handful of countries out of the 27 European Union member states that have not yet adopted the currency.

Although public support for the euro is high in some of the remaining countries, including Hungary, eurosceptic parties in government coalitions and parliaments are likely to prevent further expansion of the currency area for the foreseeable future.

Even if Hungary meets all the entry criteria, entry into the eurozone will not be possible without a parliamentary supermajority, because Orbán, who opposes deeper integration with the EU, has enshrined the forint as Hungary's national currency in the constitution.

Romania is struggling to reduce the highest budget deficit in the EU, which means that stabilising its finances to give it a realistic chance of joining the eurozone could take several years.

In Poland, where public support for the euro stands at 45 percent, Finance Minister Andrzej Domanski said Warsaw is not working to adopt the currency and that the EU's largest economy outside the eurozone is "happy with its own currency."

In the Czech Republic, support for the euro among the Czech public is at 30 percent, according to a Eurobarometer poll, and the government has no plans to take steps to adopt it.

In Sweden, only one small party openly supports joining the euro, while the populist Sweden Democrats - the second largest group in parliament, whose support is crucial for the right-wing minority government - are opposed, meaning any debate on entry is likely to remain academic.

Denmark, which joined the EU in 1973, is the only member of the bloc with an opt-out from the eurozone, meaning it has the right to remain outside the currency area even if it meets all the criteria for entry. Public support for adopting the euro stands at 33 percent.

(reuters, su)