Baltic states the 2010 Rome Masters and 2014 French Open. All three are Unitary republics, joined the European Union on 1 May 2004, share EET/EEST time zone schedules and euro currency. International peer-reviewed journals, media and book series dedicated to the Baltic region include: Official statistics of the Baltic states: Baltic states The Baltic states, also known as the Baltic countries, Baltic republics, Baltic nations or simply the Baltics (, , ), is a geopolitical term used for grouping the three sovereign states in Northern Europe on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea: Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. The term is not
Currency mostly paper, but Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation developed the world's first polymer currency in the 1980s that went into circulation on the nation's bicentenary in 1988. Now used in some 22 countries (over 40 if counting commemorative issues), polymer currency dramatically improves the life span of banknotes and prevents counterfeiting. Currency use is based on the concept of lex monetae; that a sovereign state decides which currency it shall use. Currently, the International Organization for Standardization has introduced a three-letter system of codes (ISO 4217) to define currency (as opposed to simple names or currency signs), in