What each club does for you
Treat these as three separate agreements that overlap heavily. The full, filterable table of who belongs to which is on our EU member countries page; this page is about what each one changes in practice.
The EU: rights, rules and a shared market
The European Union is a legal and trading union of 27 states. For a person it means the right to live, study and work in any member state, one set of consumer and product rules, and a customs union: goods that move between members are not charged duty.
The eurozone: one money, one central bank
The eurozone is the group of EU states that use the euro and leave interest rates to the European Central Bank. It has 21 members after Bulgaria adopted the euro on 1 January 2026. For a person it means no exchange fees and directly comparable prices from Helsinki to Seville. Six EU members keep their own currency: Czechia, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Sweden.
Schengen: borders without routine checks
Schengen is a separate treaty area of 29 countries, 25 EU states plus Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. For a person it means no routine passport check at internal borders, and one short-stay visa that works across the area. Ireland opted out to protect its open border with the United Kingdom, and Cyprus has not yet had its internal controls lifted.
What changes when you cross
The three lists differ, so a crossing can change your passport check, cash, job rights and parcel at different moments. Six crossings cover every combination that exists today.
| Crossing | Border | Cash machine | Job | Parcel |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spain to Portugal (EU, euro, Schengen to the same) | No routine check | Same euro | Free to work | No customs |
| Germany to Poland (adds a non-euro EU state) | No routine check (temporary checks running in 2026, see below) | Euro becomes zloty | Free to work | No customs |
| Dublin to Paris (EU and euro, outside Schengen, to all three) | Passport or ID check | Same euro | Free to work | No customs |
| Sweden to Norway (EU to a non-EU Schengen state) | No routine check | Krona becomes krone | EU citizens keep access through the EEA, others need a permit | Customs and VAT |
| Croatia to Montenegro (all three to a non-EU euro user) | Full passport check, both sides | Same euro | Permit needed | Customs and VAT |
| Hungary to Serbia (EU and Schengen to a non-EU, own-currency state) | Full passport check, both sides | Forint becomes dinar | Permit needed | Customs and VAT |
Two combinations are empty today. No EU member sits outside both Schengen and the euro, because the only two outside Schengen, Ireland and Cyprus, both use the euro. And no non-EU Schengen state uses the euro, because Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein all keep their own currencies.
Who runs each one, and how a country joins
Each club has its own treaty, institutions and entry test.
| Club | Run by | Founding dates | To join |
|---|---|---|---|
| EU | European Commission, European Parliament, Council | Maastricht Treaty signed 7 February 1992, in force 1 November 1993 | Copenhagen criteria, then accession talks |
| Eurozone | European Central Bank, with euro area finance ministers in the Eurogroup | Euro launched 1 January 1999, cash from 1 January 2002 | Convergence criteria and ERM II |
| Schengen | Member states and the Schengen Council, with Frontex at the external border | Agreement 1985, Convention 1990, applied from 26 March 1995, written into EU law by the Amsterdam Treaty in 1999 | Schengen evaluation, then a Council decision |
The Maastricht Treaty is the root of the first two. It turned the European Community into the EU and laid down the route to the euro, as the EU history of the 1990s record. Entry to the EU rests on the Copenhagen criteria agreed in 1993: stable democratic institutions, a functioning market economy and the ability to take on EU law. The euro has a stricter, numerical test: low inflation, sound public finances, stable long-term interest rates, and at least two years in ERM II without devaluing against the euro, as the Commission explains. The ECB sets euro interest rates through its Governing Council. Denmark holds a permanent opt-out, and its krone sits in ERM II on a narrow band of 2.25 percent either side of a central rate, per the Commission.
Schengen entry is a technical audit. Evaluators check external border control, visas, police cooperation and data protection before the Council agrees to lift internal checks.
Temporary border checks inside Schengen
Schengen allows a state to reintroduce internal checks for a limited period as a last resort. This is the part that confuses travelers. The Commission publishes every notification on its border control page. It shows no update date, so this is the list as read on 8 October 2026, for periods running that day.
| State | Borders covered | Current period ends |
|---|---|---|
| Austria | Land borders with Slovakia, Czechia, Hungary and Slovenia | 15 March 2027 |
| Denmark | Land and sea borders with Germany | 11 November 2026 |
| France | All internal borders | 31 October 2026, renewed to 30 April 2027 |
| Germany | Land borders with nine neighbours | 15 March 2027 |
| Italy | Land border with Slovenia; air and sea links with Spain | 18 December 2026; 16 October 2026 |
| Norway | Ports with ferry links to the Schengen area | 11 November 2026 |
| Poland | Land borders with Germany and Lithuania | 30 March 2027 |
| Spain | Air and sea links with Italy | 22 October 2026 |
| Sweden | All internal borders | 11 November 2026, renewed to 11 May 2027 |
Carry a passport or national ID on any Schengen trip. The list changes every few weeks.
The euro outside the eurozone
The ECB names six places that use the euro without belonging to the euro area. Andorra, Monaco, San Marino and Vatican City do so under formal monetary agreements with the EU, and Montenegro and Kosovo adopted it unilaterally. None of the six has a seat at the ECB.
Pegs are a quieter link. Denmark ties the krone to the euro through ERM II. Bulgaria's lev was held to the euro by a currency board until the euro replaced it in 2026. The two CFA francs of West and Central Africa are fixed at 655.957 to the euro with a French guarantee, per the Banque de France.