Euro
Blair and Brown set euro vote timetable
UK - Tony Blair and Gordon Brown have drawn up a timetable for a euro referendum and are preparing to make a judgment, probably next year, about whether to call one, reports the Financial Times in London, 27 June.
Five months to E-day and euro use still limited
EUROPE - Five months before the introduction of euro notes and coins, the use of the single currency remains limited in almost every country in the 12-nation eurozone, the European Commission warned yesterday, 27 July.
ECB estimates new reserve target at 127 bn euros
GERMANY - The European Central Bank said on 27 June its estimated reserve requirement for the current maintenance period was 127.0 billion euros.
Hungary publishes euro recommendations for banks
HUNGARY - The National Bank of Hungary (MNB) has published recommendations to commercial banks regarding the introduction of euro coins and notes in 12 EU member states as of 1 January 2002.
Impact of euro cash set to be 'low'
GERMANY - Deutsche Bank, Germany's biggest bank, has warned against overestimating the potential disruption generated by the change to euro cash at the start of next year. The bank said it was more likely to be a "big bang" with "little impact" on…
Survey on the Introduction of the Euro
RESEARCH - The National Bank of Belgium is conducting a new survey among enterprises concerning the introduction of the euro. The object of this survey is to assess their degree of preparedness for the changeover to the single currency and to evaluate…
CB to work out ideas for commercial banks on euro
HUNGARY - The National Bank of Hungary (MNB) is preparing recommendations to commercial banks regarding the introduction of euro coins and notes in 12 EU member states as of 1 January 2002, MNB spokesperson Gabor Missura said.
BIS Working Paper on euro and financial markets
RESEARCH - The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has published a working paper on the impact of the euro on Europe's financial markets. The paper is written by Gabriele Galati and Kostas Tsatsaronis, July 2001.
The Information Campaign - Euro 2002
SPEECH - Wim Duisenberg, President of the European Central Bank gave a speech titled 'The Information Campaign - Euro 2002' in Paris on 10 July. The speech is in French.
French to ease cash deposit laws
FRANCE - The French parliament looks set to adopt a law that eases the responsibility of banks for reporting large cash deposits during the introduction of euro notes and coins.
Sweden needs stabilising tool for euro entry-union
SWEDEN - Swedish membership of the euro is not desirable unless there is a tool to stabilise the economy which would compensate for the loss of national monetary policy, the country's biggest trade union group said on 10 July.
CentralBankNet's Special Report on the euro
ARTICLE - To join or not to join? The euro issue is proving to be deeply divisive and so far the UK government is resisting calls for a serious debate on the subject but uncertainty could prove to be costly to sterling and the economy.
Euro € - Portugal says it won't print large notes
PORTUGAL - Portugal's central bank has rejected printing the largest denomination euro notes because it believes people will shun them, a spokesman said on 9 July.
ECB Press Release - Euro frontloading
EUROPE - The European Central Bank issued a press release 5 July titled Frontloading of euro banknotes to central banks outside the euro area.
Euro € - Reynders wants euro boost at cash machine
BELGIUM - Didier Reynders, the Belgian finance minister, on 28 June proposed making euro notes available to consumers on a limited basis prior to next year's January changeover, to help reduce the risk of queues and delays forecast by retail groups.
Lithuanian c-bank to switch some reserves to euro
LITHUANIA - Lithuania's central bank said on 28 June it would "soon" start exchanging some of its reserves into euro to prepare for the change of the national currency's anchor to the euro from the dollar in February.
Argentina links to euro
ARGENTINA - The Argentine Senate has approved a new law that will fix its currency to the euro as well as to the dollar.
Chancellor cautious on early UK euro entry
UK - Gordon Brown, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, gave a cautious welcome to UK entry to the euro at his mansion house speech on 20 June.
Friedman issues euro warning
US - Top US economist Milton Friedman believes Europe was wrong to introduce the single European currency and predicts it will lead to a raft of economic problems for the region.
Euro € - Dutch prepare for switch with free coins
NETHERLANDS - The Dutch government has extravagent plans to prepare its people for the arrival of new euro notes and coins on 1 January 2002. Alone among the participating countries, the Dutch will put free coins in everyone's pocket before the…
Europe can learn from UK's decimal currency switch
UK - The conversion to a decimal currency in Britain in 1971 may have lessons for the introduction of euro notes and coins in January next year.
Euro € - Warning on readiness for euro
USA - Oracle, the world's second largest software company, has warned that companies could hit an "information technology bottleneck" in the run-up to the introduction of euro notes and coins on 1 January.
Euro € - Five economic tests have not started yet
UK - Chancellor Gordon Brown has quashed speculation that assessment of the five tests necessary for Britain's entry in the single currency have already begun and narrowly avoided a 'banana skin' during a BBC radio interview on 18 June.
Soros avoids the euro
EUROPE - In an interview with the German Sunday newspaper, Welt Am Sontag, George Soros says that betting on the euro is a mug's game.