No Cents for Hungary

People have been asking me for years when Hungary will join the Euro Zone and are flummoxed by the fact they have not yet. Of course, these are all tourists who are asking, because they are still cautious about handing over a 5,000 forint bill and barely getting any change back. All of those zeros can be alarming. I remember when Italy had lira. There were so many zeros on some of the bills; they had to add an addendum to it.

Well the Budapest Times had an enlightening article concerning Hungary and the Euro. It has never been an issue of desire, but a need to meet all of the required Maastricht criteria, the treaty that sets the rules for the Euro. "Orbán admitted that the country will not be able to meet the criteria of a 3% debt threshold until the next decade. This is a requirement that must be maintained for 2 years to be eligible for joining the Euro zone.

Tourists you need to bring your calculators or print out a currency cheat sheet here.

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