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On January 1, 2002, the people of twelve countries of the EU will get a new common currency in their wallets, the  uro. By the way, an Austrian, Mr. Robert Kalina,
designed the colorful bills - see example below. The talented graphic
designer, an employee of the Austrian National Bank, won a Europe-wide
competition that had many participants. I will concentrate on the
entertaining side of this change. For more on the political side and
how it all started, please visit this uro info site. I can't wait to get to Austria again to pay with the uro! Luckily, I don't really have a choice: it's my mother's 75th birthday next year, so we'll be there automatically. Now, first of all, the practical value: you will be able to pay with the uro
in 12 countries (Austria, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, Spain,
Portugal, Greece, Finland, Ireland, Luxembourg, France, and Italy). No
more dealing with exchanging for Peseta, Lira, or Franc, and losing a
lot of money in fees. It becomes much easier to compare prices as well,
of course. All you have to deal with is different sales taxes between
countries, which is comparable with the situation in the USA. Now for the real fun part: the partially bi-metal coins (1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50 cent, 1uro, 2 uro)
will look the same on the front; but every country has its own designs
on the back (see example above). It's a little similar to the fifty
quarter program in the USA, but the variances between the designs are
much bigger, just because of many mints involved. And there are ethnic
differences, and, of course, inscriptions in many languages! The bills (5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 uro) are the same for all countries, but are very beautiful and have many security features.
 So how are the people in all those countries prepared for the change? For the past 2+ years, all bank commerce in Europe has been done in uros. Savings account balances were shown in local currency AND uro. Same practices were followed for window shoppers. All
this was possible because of fixed exchange rates that were introduced
in 1999. Those rates stay the same for each country through the
transition period and beyond. Because for the first two months of 2002
you can pay with local currency OR the uro.
After that you can still exchange your old money for the same fixed
exchange rate. Makes sense? It's a fun little game: you just have to
know the rules. And to avoid total confusion: exchange rates between the uro
and currencies of countries outside the big 12, like USA, Russia, or
China, are still fluctuating as always. And that's where the fun ends:
the uro hasn't proven to be very stable so far. But all that will change once people can actually spend it!
I’m singing the peace aria from Mozart’s The Magic Flute as fitting background music. I’m accompanying myself on the piano, therefore I’m not singing straight out into the mike ... oh, well...
Bottom line: bring on the uro!
Besides the hopes of a more competitive economic environment that kind
of change will bring lots of fun. One tip for the wise traveler: make a
budget in uro
before your trip. It'll give you a little better control over your
vacation finances. And coin collectors beware: you might get addicted
chasing your favorite designs!
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