Maastricht criteria

Maastricht criteria

These are five criteria that determine whether an EU country is ready to adopt the euro. They relate to:

  • Price stability: The inflation rate should be no more than 1.5 percentage points above the rate for the three EU countries with the lowest inflation over the previous year;
  • Budget deficit: This must generally be below 3% of gross domestic product (GDP);
  • Debt: The national debt should not exceed 60% of GDP, but a country with a higher level of debt can still adopt the euro provided its debt level are falling steadily;
  • Interest rates: The long-term rate should be no more than two percentage points above the rate in the three EU countries with the lowest inflation over the previous year;
  • Exchange rate stability: The national currency’s exchange rate should have stayed within certain pre-set margins of fluctuation for two years.

These criteria were laid down in the Maastricht Treaty hence their name.

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