Kosovo and the euro

Kosovo adopted the euro as its de facto legal tender in 2002[1] despite the territory not being a member of the Eurozone or the European Union.

However, wartime inflation and tensions with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia severely discredited the Yugoslav dinar, and many in Kosovo preferred using and hoarding foreign currencies.

At the time, the most frequently used foreign currencies were the Albanian lek and German mark, although the U.S. dollar and Swiss franc were also widely used.

In the immediate post-conflict period, foreign currencies—especially the Deutsche Mark[5]—were widely used alongside the Yugoslav dinar in Kosovo.

[a][9] The Deutsche Bundesbank was not informed in advance, and did not send any additional coins and notes to Kosovo for the unofficial changeover.

Eurozone participation
European Union member states
( special territories not shown)
20 in the eurozone
1 in ERM II , without an opt-out ( Bulgaria )
1 in ERM II, with an opt-out ( Denmark )
5 not in ERM II, but obliged to join the eurozone on meeting the convergence criteria ( Czech Republic , Hungary , Poland , Romania , and Sweden )
Non–EU member states
4 using the euro with a monetary agreement ( Andorra , Monaco , San Marino , and Vatican City )
2 using the euro unilaterally ( Kosovo and Montenegro )
5000 dinar banknote (1985)
A 100 Mark banknote
Euro coins and banknotes of various denominations