Posted on 01/01/2007 3:06:39 PM PST by jdm
BRUSSELS: Slovenia converted to the euro Monday, officially becoming the 13th member of the euro zone and the first among the newest EU members to qualify to use the currency.
But at least half a dozen other European mini-states and territories are using the currency as legal tender without approval from the European Central Bank.
The euro was introduced five years ago to provide economic cohesion among EU countries. But euros also are in circulation in dozens of countries and overseas territories from the North Atlantic to the Pacific.
In Europe, Montenegro, Vatican City, San Marino and the principalities of Andorra and Monaco have used the euro since its inception.
In the province of Kosovo administered by the United Nations, but technically still part of Serbia the euro circulates alongside the Serbian dinar.
The European Central Bank has not opposed "unilateral euroization" by mini-states that historically have been linked to the French franc, Spanish peseta or German mark as legal tender.
"The ECB does not either encourage nor deter third countries from using the euro," the ECB president, Jean-Claude Trichet, said recently.
(Excerpt) Read more at iht.com ...
LOL.
If I was in some backwater country I would use the Euro also!
Meanwhile, France, Italy, Germany and others are fed up with it and the inflation it caused. Britain saw through it from
the start. The Euro will die a slow, expensive death.
More usage requires more printing, something Euro bankers have no problem with.
When is your prediction?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.