Night Owls

The European Union has fixed the permanent exchange rates between the euro and the eleven national currencies that join it. One euro equals 1.95583 German marks, 6.55957 French francs, 1936.27 Italian lire, 166.386 Spanish pesetas, 2.20371 Dutch guilders, 40.3399 Belgian or Luxembourg francs, 13.7603 Austrian schillings, 200.482 Portuguese escudos, 5.94573 Finnish markkaa and 0.787564 Irish pounds. These rates cannot change again. Source

From midnight the euro is the currency of eleven EU countries for bank accounts, transfers, cheques, share prices and company accounts. The old national currencies stay in people's pockets as fixed fractions of the euro until euro notes and coins arrive on 1 January 2002. Source

EU governments have agreed that Greece can adopt the euro from 1 January 2001, at a fixed rate of 340.750 drachmas to the euro. That makes twelve euro countries: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. Source

In a referendum, 53.2% of Danish voters have said no to joining the euro, on a turnout of 87.6%. Denmark keeps the krone. With Britain and Sweden also outside, three EU countries will not use euro notes and coins. Source

Each euro country sets its own period during which old notes and coins can still be spent. The Netherlands is quickest: the guilder can be used in shops only until 28 January 2002. Ireland's pound remains legal tender until 9 February and France's franc until 17 February; most other countries allow until 28 February. Germany is the exception: the mark stops being legal tender at the end of 31 December 2001, but German shops and banks have promised to accept marks until 28 February. After those dates, central banks will still exchange old money. Source

Small bags of euro coins, called starter kits, are on sale to the public from today in three countries, and in the other nine from Saturday or Monday. In the Netherlands a bag costs 25 guilders, and the government is also giving every citizen a free card with about 3.90 euros in coins. Interest in Maastricht was calm: when the ING bank on the Vrijthof opened at 9am, six people were waiting, and three of them were journalists. Euro notes will not be available until the new year. Source

Tony Blair supports the euro in principle, but says five economic tests must be met first. If they are met during this parliament, he has promised to ask voters in a referendum. Opinion polls show about two-thirds of Britons against joining, and pro-euro Conservative Kenneth Clarke blames an old British anxiety about national identity. Source

There are eight euro coins, from 1 cent to 2 euros, and seven notes, from 5 to 500 euros. The notes look the same in every country, with imaginary bridges, gateways and windows instead of real monuments. Each coin has one side common to all countries, showing a map of Europe, and one national side chosen by the country that minted it. A coin with any national side can be spent in all twelve euro countries. Source

German banks and savings banks have started selling 53.3 million euro starter kits. Each costs 20 marks and holds 20 coins worth 10.23 euros. The kits are so popular that many branches sold out on the first day. Source

The European Central Bank fears the euro could replace the US dollar as the world's most forged currency. About 14.5 billion new notes have been printed, and 10 billion of them will appear at once on 1 January. A trade paper reports that Philips and Infineon are studying tiny radio chips that could be built into 200 and 500 euro notes, but the idea is still too expensive. Source

Robbers have taken about 100,000 euros from a Banca Popolare di Lodi branch near Palermo, the third euro heist in Italy before the currency is even legal tender. In November armed men took 260,000 euros from a Banca di Roma branch near Rome, and in September a gang stole about 5,000 new coins in Bari. In Germany, 1.2 million euros were taken from a security van in Giessen in September, though most was recovered. About 50 billion coins and 14.5 billion notes are being distributed for 1 January. Source

The euro ended the week at 88.64 US cents in New York, down from just over 90 cents on Monday. It has stayed below one dollar for all of 2001 and is far below its level at its launch in 1999; its record low against the dollar came on 25 October 2000. Source

The French islands of St Pierre and Miquelon, off Newfoundland, switch to the euro on 1 January along with France. Some of the 7,000 residents worry about losing a piece of their French identity; hotel and shop owners, who already handle francs, euros and Canadian dollars, say one currency will make life easier. Source

Spaniards holding 'black money', cash hidden from the tax authorities, are spending it on homes, luxury cars and jewellery before the peseta disappears. The bank BBVA estimates that about 8.5 billion dollars in cash could come out of hiding this year. The tax agency says it will look for such cases in the first half of 2002. Source