Making Of The Euro, The

January 1, 2002 will see the introduction of the euro in 12 of the 15 member states of the European Union. It will be worldwide a currency with a circulation second only to that of the United States, used by over 300 million Europeans. <br><br> The 1960s saw the emergence of cautious dialogue about the feasibility of a common market led by Germanys Helmut Kohl and Frances Francois Mitterand who wished to facilitate a common trade. The idea gradually became a reality after the fall of the Berlin Wall at the end of the 1980s; integration was seen as part of the peacemaking process. Its development was largely a matter of bargains struck between Europes two largest countries; Mitterand saw union as a way to make German unification more acceptable for the French people. The Common Market became the European Union (EU); membership grew from 6 countries to 15. Meetings at Maastricht in 1991 and Dublin in 1996 produced the resolution to issue a single currency and the selection of the Euro design. It resembles no other currency and is acceptable to all the members; production advice was sought from Orell Fussli, producer of the Swiss currency, judged to be the least susceptible to counterfeiting. <br><br> But will the euro be safe? The US, with 350 billion in bank notes in circulation worldwide, uses only 2 printing sites (Ft. Worth, Texas, and Washington, DC) and had made no major currency changes from 1928 to 1996, and yet concedes that much of its non-US circulation may be forged. Europe per se has no penal law and no EU police organization to contend with forgers. In matters of judicial authority, law and police, member states cling to sovereignty. Euros will be printed in 10 different locations, with national variations in each bill. Some contend that The once-only chance to make the euro the worlds safest and most reliable currency has been over-ridden by national interest. If forgery undermines public confidence in the EU currency the economy will be crippled with untold consequences. Are Interpol and the various national polices adequate to prevent organized crime from having a field day? THE MAKING OF THE EURO probes this question and presents concerns and contentions from both sides of the issue.

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