According to RÚV, Prime Minister Halldór Ásgrímsson has said, that the devaluation of the Icelandic krona must encourage discussions on the possibility of Iceland taking up the Euro as its currency. The chairman of the Left Green Party, Steingrímur J. Sigfússon, countered by saying that it must be the only instance of a Prime Minister of a developed country talking down its currency when it is under siege like the Icelandic krona.
The Euro is the official currency of Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Ireland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. It is also used in Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, the Vatican, Kosovo and Montenegro in the western Balkans as well as in the Azores, the Canaries, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Madeira, Martinique, Mayotte, Réunion, and Saint Pierre and Miquelon. The first twelve are part of EU whereas the others are either independent or in some way dependent on the EU countries using the euro. The 10 member states that joined the EU in 2004 are committed to adopting the euro but none will be ready to do so before 2007 at the earliest.
