Five new countries have joined since the start of Monetary Union in January 1999, with Slovakia becoming the newest member of the euro area in January of this year. The door is open to all those that meet the clearly stated and predefined criteria for membership of the Economic and Monetary Union.
A fifth factor that also bolsters confidence are the steps being taken towards supplementing the institutional architecture of both the European Union and the euro area. The ongoing discussions and decisions taken in this direction have helped to turn the international climate around; in turn, this affected sentiment in Greece favourably.