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The Euro is the currency of the European Union (EU), the Euro was adopted in 2002 and is the daily currency of 15 states of the E.U. plus Slovenia the 13th state since 1st January 2007. The Euro is performing very well against the U.S. Dollar at 1:1.4, with Iran recently banking its oil revenue in Euro. The European Central Bank (ECB) decides the international rate of exchange for the Euro which is supported by a population of 500 million EU residents. The Euro note is standard, the Euro coin has a national symbol on one side, Germany has the Brandenburg date, Greece the laurel wreath and Ireland the harp.

The Euro is not universally welcome. France resents the Euro rendering French goods too expensive to export. French Guyana, New Caledonia, Martinique, Mauritius and Reunion, all French overseas territories are fully entitled to use the Euro well outside the European continent. Germany links the Euro with teuer-o (too dear). Sweden, Denmark and the U.K. rejected the Euro, however one may pay for goods and services in Euro in these countries because they are within the Eurozone. Spain is very pleased with the Euro because its territories including the Canaries and Ceuta and Mellila in Morocco along with some select Spanish speaking countries may use the Euro well outside Europe. Cuba recently adopted the Euro.

Ireland is especially pleased with the Euro due to the central location of the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in Dublin where 10 billion Dollars of equities are traded daily. The Irish economy has benefitted greatly from the expanding E.U. with its perfect placement between the U.S. and E.U. The Euro is only 7 years old , yet, in 2000 one could trade in Euro as a virtual currency in equities.

The E.U. is now a major world trading block. The European Central Bank has a number of high performing countries supporting its deposits with Germany (3rd best performing economy worldwide), Italy (5th best performing economy worldwide) and the UK (6th best performing economy worldwide) prominent in the G8 and G20 summits.

A cursory examination of world currencies supports the fact that in direct comparison with UK Sterling and the US Dollar, the Euro, still only 7 years old, is steady and gaining strength daily compared to the Dollar. The Euro is going from strength to strength with only a matter of time before oil and gas prices will be dealt in the Euro.

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