| >>What does the panel think about EMU?
Can't wait
>>Will it happen in two years or ever?
Yes but only for the hardcore Countries, Benelux, Germany & France
With France getting a major cash injection to help it through
>>Who should be in and who should be out and why?
Everyone should be in, goverments alone can no longer control their
currency, the disaster with the Lira and Sterling a few years ago
showed that. With the EMU then there is strength in the fight
against speculators.
>>Who the hell picked the name Euro (and why for gawdsake)?
It was picked becouse noone had the guts to pick a name that had
anysort of meaning. Me I preffered the Shilling, used in the past
in many european countries (and still in Austria), is easy to say
in any language and has a nice tone to it.
gerbil$pissed_off_exchanging_and_losing_money
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| I very much doubt the EMU will happen in the next 10 years. The ERM all
but collapsed after Britain and Italy left, only surviving because the
bands were widened considerably; the members simply couldn't hold their
currencies.
Last week, Italy were given the go-ahead, much to Germany's disgust,
the levy a "one-off" tax designed to pay off enough of the National
Debt to meet the Maastricht criteria. As long as things like that
happen, it's doomed to failure.
I very much hope the UK stays well clear. Yes, exchange rates are a
pain, yes, paying commission is a pain, yes I suffer from both on a
weekly basis. However, the current rush towards the ill-named Euro,
is madness, and it'll all end in tears if they let politics over-rule
economic reality.
Cheers, Laurie.
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