Monetary union

A monetary union is when a group of countries decide to use the same money. It's like when you and your friends agree to use the same toy for playing. Instead of toys, countries use money for buying and selling things.

For example, imagine you live in a country called A and your friend lives in country B. In country A, people use a currency called "dollars" and in country B, they use a currency called "euros". Now, you want to buy something from your friend who lives in country B. But you can't use your "dollars" to buy things in "euros". You need to exchange your "dollars" for "euros" before you can buy anything. This can be expensive and time-consuming.

So, the countries in the European Union (EU) came up with an idea to make things easier for everyone. They decided to use the same currency, called "euro", for buying and selling things in all the countries that are part of the EU. This means that you can easily buy things from your friend in country B without having to exchange your money.

But using the same currency is not easy. It requires countries to give up some of their control over their own money. For example, if a country in the monetary union wants to print more money, they can't do it on their own without the agreement of the other countries. This is because the countries need to work together to make sure everyone is using the same currency properly.

In summary, a monetary union is when countries use the same currency for buying and selling things. It makes things easier and more convenient for people, but it also requires countries to work together and give up some control over their own money.