World Wide Words

From the Turns of Phrase section

Euroland

Pronounced /ˈjʊərəʊˌlænd/

This is an informal shorthand term for the group of eleven members of the European Union who have decided to adopt a single currency from the beginning of 1999. It differentiates these countries from the other members of the Union, such as the UK, which are not joining. As the new currency is the Euro, it was not a huge inventive leap to coin Euroland for the group, though the potential for confusion with the EU as a whole is significant. It seems to have come into relatively common use only in the early months of 1998, about the time it was confirmed which countries were eligible for European monetary union according to the Maastricht criteria; it has since become the standard word in financial and political circles, and is even used by members of the British government. It turns up also in other European languages, such as German.

Euroland’s fiscal policy remains in the hands of politicians from 11 different countries.

Scotsman, May 1998

While Duisenberg warned Tuesday that the economies of Euroland, as the 11-nation single currency zone is informally called, were slowing down and business confidence was falling, he did not hint that interest rate cuts were needed.

Washington Post, Dec. 1998