By Emir Yildirim
ISTANBUL (AA) - The euro and the US dollar were predominantly used in extra-EU trade in 2023, according to data from the EU’s statistical bureau, Eurostat, released on Monday.
The euro accounted for 46% of the total trade in goods between EU member states and non-EU countries in 2023, and the US dollar 42%.
The euro led exports in the same period, accounting for 52% of transactions, and the US dollar made up 32%.
Some 19 out of 27 EU states used the euro primarily for exports, with Slovenia leading the list of such countries at 90%, followed by Croatia at 82% and Latvia at 78%.
The US dollar was predominantly used in some six countries for exports with non-EU states, among which the Greek Cypriot administration of Southern Cyprus came on top with 76%, followed by Ireland with 65% and Greece with 54%.
As for imports from non-EU states, the US dollar was used more than the euro, as the former made up 60% of transactions, while the latter accounted for 41%.
Some 16 countries were recorded to have used the US dollar most in imports, particularly Finland at 67%, while Greece, Poland, and Lithuania had the same shares of the use of US dollar in exports at 64%.
In some 11 countries, the euro was used in imports more than the US dollar, most notably in Slovenia with 77%, followed by Croatia with 70% and Slovakia with 60%.
“Currencies of EU countries other than the euro reached double digits in Czechia (24%) and Denmark (13%),” said Eurostat.