Euro becomes legal tender in British territory for the first time
Written by Mark Pack on 7th January 2008 – 2:55 pmOne angle to the story of Cypus and Malta joining the euro at the start of the year which you may have missed:
The euro will also become legal tender on British military bases in Cyprus, the first part of sovereign British territory to adopt the currency.
Although the bases at Dhekelia, Episkopi and RAF Akrotiri are not officially part of the European Union, an estimated 10,000 Cypriots live or work there.
Residents use the shops, cafes and beaches on the bases, so the authorities in the sovereign base areas have decided to adopt the same rules as the Cypriot government.
Posted in News
7th January 2008 at 3:22 pm
Yay! A start…..
Forgive the dense question - “Although the bases at Dhekelia, Episkopi and RAF Akrotiri are not officially part of the European Union” - why are British bases not part of the EU? Is RAF Brize Norton equally apart? Or is it some strange feature of what happens when an EU state had territory within another?
7th January 2008 at 3:55 pm
Good question. I suspect the writer meant to say that they are not part of the Eurozone, ie not part of Cyprus.
7th January 2008 at 4:54 pm
The Chanel islands, isle of man, gibralter etc are not part of the EU so I suspect these bases are in the same boat.
7th January 2008 at 8:45 pm
Channel Islands aren’t but Gib is in the EU, South West MEPs represent Gib in the European parliament.
8th January 2008 at 11:02 am
The Channel Islands and Isle of Man aren’t EU member states.