Economy of Greece Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC). The country joined what is now the European Union in 1981. In 2001 Greece adopted the euro as its currency, replacing the Greek drachma at an exchange rate of 340.75 drachmae per euro. Greece is a member of the International Monetary Fund and of the World Trade Organization, and ranked 34th on Ernst & Young's Globalization Index 2011. World War II (1939-1945) devastated the country's economy, but the high levels of economic growth that followed from 1950 to 1980 have been called the Greek economic miracle. From 2000 Greece saw high levels of GDP growth above
Croatia and the euro one month before Croatia's EU entry governor Vujčić admitted "...we have no date [to join the single currency] in mind at the moment". Before Croatia can join ERM II, it must reduce its budget deficit by about 1.5 billion kuna (June 2013 figures). The European Central Bank was expecting Croatia to be approved for ERM II membership in 2016 at the earliest, with euro adoption in 2019. Many small businesses in Croatia had debts denominated in euros before EU accession. Croatian people already use the euro for most savings and many informal transactions. Real estate, motor vehicle and accommodation prices