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[Odler]

In case you missed the event, one the first day of 2002, the Euro has

become the universal legal tender for twelve European nations,

thereby sending twelve national currencies into the folds of History.

The franc, along with the Deutsch mark, the escudo (Portugal), the

lira (Italy), the peso (Spain), etc., as of the end of this month of

February, will be collector items, probably worth more than the number

written on the banknotes.

Even though the Euro appeared as palpable money only last month, it

has been around since the beginning of 1999, being used for transfer,

and in international trade.

The Euro is worth 0.86 dollar today.

It is the official currency for Austria, Belgium, Finland, France,

Germany, Greece, Holland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, and

Portugal. (Did I get them in perfect alphabetic order?)

Three members of the Union have had cold feet; they have not joined

the Euro experience: United Kingdom, Sweden and Denmark. Other

countries like Turkey are on the waiting list; they need to meet the

criteria for membership.

"Why is Switzerland not part of the European Union?" is a question I

have yet to have a satisfactory answer for.

The consequence of having these twelve countries using the same

currency may be daunting for their U.S competitors on the world

markets. The twelve countries account for about 300 million souls, a

chilling comparison to the 280 millions Americans using the dollar.

So far, my experience with this new stuff is a grim one: they have a

?200-bill that is confusing since there is not a dollar counterpart.

And, contrary to the greenbacks, the bills are of unequal size. They

make the interior of my wallet look disorderly.

The asserted goal of the founders of the Union, Germany and France,

(founded in 1991, by the Maastricht Treatu) is to eventually create

the United States of Europe, with each country keeping their

individual cultural traits, but pulling together their political,

economic, and financial resources.

Somewhere trans-Atlantic, along the Potomac River, someone must be

watching...

(The Traveller, Saturday, February 9, 2002)