3.3  Coping with the accession of new countries to the EU and the euro area  Four countries of the European Union have not yet adopted the euro. They may well join in the medium term. A greater challenge is the potential accession of still more countries to the European Union and ultimately the euro area.
Of the major countries, the United States was the first to raise rates, with the Fed beginning to tighten in mid 2004. The European Central Bank has only just started the process in recent months and the Bank of Japan is not expected to start lifting rates for some time yet.