With the euro debt crisis, Denmark's presidency of the EU council coincides with one of the most difficult moments in the Union's history. As Denmark is not member of the euro zone, it is prepared to take a back seat in the troubleshooting effort, but would strive to keep the countries from both sides united - "a bridge over troubled water" as European Affairs Minister Nicolai Wammen described it.
All 27 EU countries – except Britain and the Czech Republic – have agreed on a new treaty for tighter fiscal discipline and deeper economic integration to save the euro currency. The treaty came into force on 1 January 2013.
The Greek sovereign debt crisis is forcing Europeans to rethink the coordination of their national economic policies, confronting the euro area with its most severe test since its launch eleven years ago.
Heads of state and government agreed at the March 2005 Summit to revise the EU's Stability and Growth Pact reform. Under the revised rules, member states must still keep their public deficits under a 3% GDP/deficit ratio and their debts under a 60% GDP/debt ratio.
All future members of the European Union will be eligible to join the European single currency, the euro, in accordance with the provisions of the Maastricht Treaty. The ten countries that are due to join the EU on 1 May 2004 have all expressed interest in joining the eurozone at the earliest possible time. However, monetary integration may take longer for some future members, notably Poland and Hungary, whose budget deficits are deteriorating while unemployment is soaring. The future members will also have to make further efforts toward catching up to EU levels of income per capita, which requires hard work in the area of labour markets and fiscal policy reform.
