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Interpol

Interpol

:This article is about the International Criminal Police Organization. For the indie rock band, see Interpol (band). Interpol (band) Interpol, more correctly the International Criminal Police Organization, was created in 1923 to assist international criminal police co-operation. Interpol, once merely the organization's telegraphic address, was officially incorporated into the organization's new name adopted in 1956, prior to which it was known as the International Criminal Police Commission. Interpol is the world's second largest international organization, after the United Nations; it currently has 184 member countries. It is financed by annual contributions from its member countries, which total about EUR 30 million; however, Europol receives €50 million annually. The Organization is headquartered in Lyon, France (formerly headquartered in Saint Cloud, a town located in the vicinity of Paris). The currently serving President of Interpol is Mr. Jackie Selebi, Commissioner of the South African Police. The current Secretary General, Ronald K. Noble, formerly of the U.S. Treasury Department, is the first non-European to hold the position. Because of the politically neutral role Interpol must play, its Constitution forbids any involvement in crimes that do not overlap several member countries, or any political, military, religious, or racial crimes. Its work centers primarily on public safety and terrorism, organized crime, illicit drug production and drug trafficking, weapons smuggling, trafficking in human beings, money laundering, child pornography, financial and high-tech crime, and corruption. In October 2001, the Interpol General Secretariat employed a staff of 384, representing 54 different countries. That same month, Interpol began to change from a 9-to-5 agency to a 24-hour agency, making its work easier and more efficient. In 2001, some 1,400 people were arrested or located as a result of Interpol notices.

History

Interpol was founded in Austria in 1923 as the International Criminal Police Commission. The organization came under control of Nazi Germany when Germany declared the Anschluss (political union between Germany and Austria). The staff and facilities of Interpol were utilised as an information gathering unit for the Gestapo, until the Nazi regime fell to Allied forces. Senior military officials from Britain, France, Belgium and Scandinavia reorganized Interpol into today's organization. The United States, after a period of isolationism, joined Interpol in 1961.

Methodology

Each member country maintains a National Central Bureau (NCB) staffed by national law enforcement officers. The NCB is the designated contact point for the Interpol General Secretariat, regional bureaus and other member countries requiring assistance with overseas investigations and the location and apprehension of fugitives. This is especially important in countries which have many law-enforcement agencies: this central bureau is a unique point of contact for foreign entities, which may not understand the complexity of the law-enforcement system of the country they attempt to contact. For instance, the NCB for the United States of America is housed at the United States Department of Justice (DOJ). The NCB will then ensure the proper transmission of information to the correct agency. Interpol maintains a large database charting unsolved crimes and both convicted and alleged criminals. At any time, a member nation has access to specific sections of the database and its police forces are encouraged to check information held by Interpol whenever a major crime is committed. The rationale behind this is that drugs traffickers and similar criminals have international ties, and so it is likely that crimes will extend beyond political boundaries. A member nation's police force can contact one or more member nations by sending a message relayed through Interpol. Contrary to what has been featured in some works of fiction, Interpol officers do not directly conduct inquiries in member countries.

Member states

Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Aruba, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, East Timor, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, Republic of Macedonia, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, Netherlands Antilles, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia and Montenegro, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Non-member states

Holy See, Kiribati, North Korea, Federated States of Micronesia, Palau, Samoa, San Marino, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Vanuatu.

External links


- [http://www.interpol.int Interpol's official website]
- [http://icpoinfo.tripod.com Interpol Information Website] Category:International organizations Category:International law enforcement organisations Category:Intelligence agencies ja:国際刑事警察機構

Interpol (band)

Interpol is a New York City indie rock/new wave band formed in 1998. Their debut album Turn on the Bright Lights was critically acclaimed, while the follow-up, Antics, has also been a commercial and critical success. The members of the band are Paul Banks on vocals and guitar, Carlos Dengler on bass and keyboards, Sam Fogarino on drums, and Daniel Kessler on guitar and background vocals. The band's sound is a dark mix of bass throb and choppy, sparse guitar. Interpol has been somewhat likened to Joy Division and The Chameleons, whose stark, sombre music and sometimes perplexing lyrics it is thought to echo. Where Turn on the Bright Lights had been spare and tentative, Antics used a fuller, more confident sound. Both Antics and Turn on the Bright Lights were recorded at Tarquin Studios in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The band formed when Daniel Kessler met drummer Greg Drudy, now a member of screamo band Hot Cross, on the New York University campus. Kessler later added Carlos D., an ex-guitar player, on the bass, after meeting him in a history class. The line-up was complete after Kessler remembered an old friend he met while in Paris. Banks and Kessler ran into each other on the street, after losing touch since Paris, and Banks became lead singer. In 2000, Greg left the band, and Daniel recruited Sam, whom the band knew through his job at a local record store. The band will take time off after their Antics tour for an unknown amount of time. A new song by the band, 'Direction' was released on the soundtrack to the television programme 'Six Feet Under' on 28th June 2005.

Discography

Albums


- Turn on the Bright Lights (August 20, 2002) #158 US, #101 UK
- Antics (September 29, 2004) #15 US, #21 UK

EPs


- Demo Tape
- Fukd I.D. #3 (December 11, 2000)
- Precipitate EP (January 01, 2001)
- Interpol EP (June 04, 2002)
- The Black EP (August 26, 2003)

Singles

from Turn on the Bright Lights


- 2002 "The Interpol EP: PDA / NYC / Specialist" #170 UK
- 2002 "Obstacle 1" #72 UK
- 2003 "Say Hello To The Angels / NYC" #65 UK
- 2003 "Obstacle 1 (remix)" #41 UK

from Antics


- 2004 "Slow Hands" #15 US Modern Rock #36 UK
- 2005 "Evil" #24 US Modern Rock, #18 UK
- 2005 "C'mere" #19 UK
- 2005 "Slow Hands" (re-issue) #44 UK

Trivia


- Daniel Kessler has stated in an interview that the band "...had played shows with no name and then I got to the point where I was like, 'Guys, we're getting decent crowds, but like...we don't have a name so no one knows who to go see again.'" Other names the band considered were Las Armas (The Weapons)[http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/interviews/i/interpol-02/] and The French Letters. They also performed a secret show at Luna Lounge in New York under the pseudonym Cuddleworthy.
- The name Interpol supposedly comes from Paul Banks' name. While he was in Spain, friends would call him "Pol, Pol, Interpol." Another suggestion as to the reason the band is so called is because the word Interpol suggests order and efficiency, similar to the style in which the band plays.
- Rumor has it that an Interpol agent attended a concert in Europe and actually approached the band afterwards. On the other hand, the band does receive a lot of mail from people who think that info@interpolny.com is the email address for the international police.
- Bassist and keyboard player Carlos is also a DJ. He often spins at parties while the band is on tour and has hosted several ongoing parties in NYC.

See also


- Other post-punk revival bands

External links


- [http://www.interpolny.com/ Official web site]
- [http://www.interpol.net.ms/ Interpol Concert Chronology]
- [http://www.mickelcurepol.com/unlyrics.html Interpol Lyrics]
- [http://www.interpolarchive.com/ Interpol Archive] Interpol Interpol

1923

1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar).

Events

January-June


- January 1 - Grouping of all UK railway companies into four larger companies
- January 10 - Lithuania seizes and annexes Memel
- January 11 - Troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area to force Germany to pay its reparation payments
- February 16 - Howard Carter unseals the burial chamber of Pharaoh Tutankhamun
- February 22 - Barcelona (Catalonia): Albert Einstein visits the city, invited by the scientist Esteban Terradas i Illa, as part of the monografics course of High Studies and Exchange organized by the Mancomunitat de Catalunya and conducted by Rafael de Campalans.
- March - Antigone by Jean Cocteau appears on a Paris stage. Settings by Pablo Picasso, music by Arthur Honegger, and costumes by Gabrielle Chanel. Antonin Artaud played the part of Tiresias.
- March 1 - USS Connecticut decommissioned
- March 2 - Time Magazine hits newsstands for the first time
- March 9 - Vladimir Lenin suffers a stroke, his third, which renders him bedridden and unable to speak; consequently he retires his position as Chairman of the Soviet government.
- April - End of Irish Civil War
- April 12 - Kandersteg International Scout Centre came into existence.
- April 23 - Ceremonial inauguration of Gdynia Seaport
- April 26 - Wedding of Prince Albert and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in Westminster Abbey
- May 23 - Launch of Belgium's SABENA Airlines
- May 27 - Ku Klux Klan defies law requiring publication of its members
- June 9 - Military coup in Bulgaria - prime minister Aleksandar Stamboliyski is ousted (he is killed June 14)
- June 18 - Etna volcano erupts - 60.000 made homeless

July-September


- July 6 - Union of Soviet Socialist Republics established
- July 10 - Large hailstones kill 23 in Rostow, Soviet Russia
- July 19-20 night - Assassination of Pancho Villa
- July 24 - The Treaty of Lausanne, settling the boundaries of modern Turkey, is signed in Switzerland by Greece, Bulgaria and other countries that fought in the First World War
- August 2 - Warren G. Harding, 29th President of the United States (1921 - 1923) dies in office and is succeeded by Calvin Coolidge (1923-1929).
- August 13 - First major sea-going ship arrives at Gdynia, newly constructed Polish seaport
- August 13 - Gustav Stresemann is named chancellor and founds a coalition government in Weimar Republic Germany
- September 1 - Great Kantō earthquake devastates Tokyo and Yokohama killing 142.807 people
- September 4 - In Lakehurst, New Jersey, the first American airship, the "USS Shenandoah, takes to the sky for the first time
- September 6 - Italian navy occupies Corfu in retaliation of murder of an Italian officer. League of Nations protests and they leave September 29
- September 8 - Honda Point Disaster: Seven US Navy destroyers ran aground off the California coast.
- September 9 - Atatürk founded the CHP.
- September 13 - Military coup in Spain - Miguel Primo de Rivera takes over, setting up a dictatorship.
- September 18-26 - Newspaper printers strike in New York
- September 26 - In Bayern, Gustav von Kuhr declares independence from Berlin

October-December


- October 29 - Turkey becomes a republic following the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire
- November 8 - Beer Hall Putsch: In Munich, Adolf Hitler leads the Nazis in an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the German government. Police and troops crush the attempt the next day
- November 12- Her Highness Princess Maud of Fife marries Captain Charles Alexander Carnegie in Wellington Barracks, London.
- November 15 - The inflation in Germany reaches its height. One dollar is worth 4,200,000,000,000 Reichsmarks (4.2 trillion). Gustav Stresemann abolishes the old currency
- November 23 - Gustav Stresemann's coalition government collapses
- December 12 - Po river dam bursts - 600 dead
- December 27 - Assassination attempt against the crown prince of Japan in Tokyo

Unknown dates


- Juan de la Cierva invents the autogyro, a rotary-winged aircraft with an unpowered rotor.
- Finnish flag carrier Finnair airline is started in Aero Oy.
- Interpol is set up.
- International Police Conference in Vienna
- Hoda Cha'arawi Association (formerly The Egyptian Feminist Union) is established in Egypt.
- Trade unions banned in Spain for 10 years.
- Police strike in Australia
- Regia Aeronautica, air force of Fascist Italy, is founded.
- American Law Institute established
- Moderation League of New York became part of movement for repeal of prohibition in United States.

Births

January-February


- January 1 - Roméo Sabourin, Canadian World War II spy (d. 1944)
- January 5 - Sam Phillips, American record producer (d. 2003)
- January 6 - Jacobo Timerman, Argentine writer (d. 1999)
- January 7 - Hugh Kenner, Canadian literary critic (d. 2003)
- January 8 - Johnny Wardle, English cricketer (d. 1985)
- January 16 - Anthony Hecht, American poet (d. 2004)
- January 19 - Jean Stapleton, American actress
- January 25 - Arvid Carlsson, Swedish scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- January 26 - Anne Jeffreys, American actress
- January 29 - Paddy Chayefsky, American writer (d. 1981)
- January 31 - Norman Mailer, American writer and journalist
- February 2 - James Dickey, American poet and author (d. 1997)
- February 2 - Liz Smith, American gossip columnist
- February 9 - Brendan Behan, Irish author (d. 1964)
- February 12 - Franco Zeffirelli, Italian film and opera director
- February 13 - Yfrah Neaman, Lebanese-born violinist (d. 2003)
- February 13 - Chuck Yeager, American pilot and NASA official
- February 20 - Forbes Burnham, President of Guyana (d. 1985)
- February 24 - David Soyer, American cellist
- February 27 - Dexter Gordon, American jazz saxophone player (d. 1990)

March-April


- March 6 - Ed McMahon, American television personality
- March 9 - Walter Kohn, Austrian-born physicist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry
- March 10 - Val Logsdon Fitch, American nuclear physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- March 12 - Wally Schirra, astronaut
- March 21 - Shri Mataji Nirmala Shrivastava, Indian founder of Sahaja Yoga
- March 25 - Wim van Est, Dutch cyclist (d. 2003)
- March 26 - Bob Elliott, American comedian
- March 27 - Louis Simpson, Jamaican-born poet
- March 30 - Milton Acorn, Canadian writer (d. 1986)
- April 2 - G. Spencer-Brown, British mathematician
- April 8 - George Fisher, American political cartoonist (d. 2003)
- April 8 - Edward Mulhare, Irish actor (d. 1997)
- April 13 - Don Adams, American actor and comedian (d. 2005)
- April 20 - Mother Angelica, American founder of the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN)
- April 22 - Bettie Page, American model
- April 22 - Aaron Spelling, American television producer and writer
- April 23 - Dolph Briscoe, Governor of Texas

May-August


- May 1 - Joseph Heller, American novelist (d. 1999)
- May 2 - Patrick Hillery, President of Ireland
- May 3 - Ralph Hall, American politician
- May 5 - Richard Wollheim, British philosopher (d. 2003)
- May 7 - Anne Baxter, American actress (d. 1985)
- May 13 - Bea Arthur, American actress
- May 15 - John Lanchbery, English composer (d. 2003)
- May 16 - Merton Miller, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate
- May 18 - Hugh Shearer, Prime Minister of Jamaica (d. 2004)
- May 21 - Armand Borel, Swiss mathematician (d. 2003)
- May 21 - Dorothy Hewett, writer (d. 2002)
- May 21 - Ara Parseghian, American football coach
- May 26 - James Arness, American actor
- May 27 - Henry Kissinger, United States Secretary of State, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
- May 28 - György Ligeti, Hungarian composer
- May 31 - Rainier III, Prince of Monaco (d. 2005)
- July 2 - Wislawa Szymborska, Polish writer, Nobel Prize laureate
- July 4 - Rudolf Friedrich, Swiss Federal Councilor
- July 8 - Harrison Dillard, American athlete
- July 18 - Jerome H. Lemelson, American inventor (d. 1997)
- July 20 - Stanisław Albinowski, Polish economist and journalist (d. 2005)
- July 21 - Rudolph A. Marcus, Canadian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- July 22 - Robert Joseph Dole, American politician and Presidential candidate
- July 22 - Mukesh, Indian singer (d. 1976)
- July 23 - Witto Aloma, Cuban Major League Baseball player (d. 1997)
- August 5 - Devan Nair, third President of Singapore (d. 2005)
- August 20 - Jim Reeves, American singer (d. 1964)
- August 21 - Shimon Peres, Prime Minister of Israel, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize
- August 24 - Arthur Jensen, American educational psychologist
- August 26 - Wolfgang Sawallisch, German conductor and pianist

September-December


- September 1 - Kenneth Roy Thomson, 2nd Baron Thomson of Fleet, Canadian businessman and art collector
- September 1 - Rocky Marciano, American boxer (d. 1969)
- September 3 - Mort Walker, American cartoonist
- September 6 - King Peter II of Yugoslavia (d. 1970)
- September 9 - Daniel Carleton Gajdusek, American virologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- September 11 - Dharmsamrat Paramhans Swami Madhavananda, Indian guru (d. 2003)
- September 17 - Hank Williams, American country musician (d. 1953)
- September 20 - Geraldine Clinton Little, Irish-born poet (D. 1997
- September 22 - Dannie Abse, Welsh poet
- September 26 - Dev Anand, Indian actor
- October 3 - Edward Oliver LeBlanc, Dominican politician (d. 2004)
- October 5 - Albert Guðmundsson, Icelandic professional football player and politician (d. 1994)
- October 5 - Glynis Johns, British actress
- October 13 - Faas Wilkes, Dutch football (soccer) player
- October 15 - Italo Calvino, Italian writer (d. 1985)
- October 23 - Frank Sutton, American actor (d. 1974)
- November 1 - Victoria de los Angeles, Catalan soprano (d. 2005)
- November 1 - Gordon R. Dickson, Canadian author (d. 2001)
- November 8 - Jack Kilby, American electrical engineer, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physics (d. 2005)
- November 20 - Nadine Gordimer, South African writer, Nobel Prize laureate
- November 22 - Arthur Hiller, Canadian film director
- November 23 - Billy Haughton, American harness driver and trainer (d. 1986)
- November 25 - Mauno Koivisto, President of Finland
- December 2 - Maria Callas, Greek soprano (d. 1977)
- December 12 - Bob Barker, American game show host
- December 13 - Philip Warren Anderson, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- December 13 - Larry Doby, baseball player (d. 2003)
- December 13 - Antoni Tàpies, Catalan painter
- December 14 - Gerard Reve, Dutch writer
- December 15 - Freeman Dyson, English-born physicist
- December 23 - Claudio Scimone, Italian conductor
- December 23 - James Stockdale, U.S. Navy admiral
- December 24 - George Patton IV, American general (d. 2004)
- December 25 - Sonia Olschanezky, World War II heroine (d. 1944)

Deaths


- Michel-Joseph Maunoury, French general (b. 1847)
- January 9 - Katherine Mansfield, British novelist (b. 1888)
- January 23 - Max Nordau, Hungarian author, philosopher, and Zionist leader (b. 1849)
- February 10 - Wilhelm Röntgen, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1845)
- February 23 - Théophile Delcassé, French statesman (b. 1852)
- March 8 - Johannes Diderik van der Waals, Dutch physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1837)
- March 26 - Sarah Bernhardt, French actress (b. 1844)
- March 27 - Sir James Dewar, Scottish chemist (b. 1842)
- April 4 - John Venn, British mathematician (b. 1834)
- April 5 - George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon, English financier of Egyptian excavations (b. 1866)
- June 9 - Princess Helena of the United Kingdom (b. 1846)
- August 2 - Warren G. Harding, 29th President of the United States (b. 1865)
- October 30 - Andrew Bonar Law, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1858)
- December 12 - Raymond Radiguet, French author (b. 1903)
- December 13 - Théophile Steinlen, Swiss painter (b. 1859)

Nobel Prizes


- Physics - Robert Andrews Millikan
- Chemistry - Fritz Pregl
- Physiology or Medicine - Frederick Grant Banting, John James Richard Macleod
- Literature - William Butler Yeats
- Peace - Not awarded
- ko:1923년 ms:1923 ja:1923年 simple:1923 th:พ.ศ. 2466

International organization

:For the political science journal, see: International Organization An international organization (also called intergovernmental organization) is an organization of international scope or character. There are two main types of international organizations:
- international intergovernmental organizations, whose members are sovereign states or other intergovernmental organizations (like European Union in the WTO).
- and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which are private organizations. Generally and correctly used, the term international organization is used to mean international governmental organizations only. It is in this sense that the term is used in the remainder of this article. Legally speaking, an international organization must be established by a treaty providing it with legal recognition. International organizations so established are subjects of international law, capable of entering into agreements among themselves or with states. Thus international organizations in a legal sense are distinguished from mere groupings of states, such as the G-8 and the G-77, neither of which have been founded by treaty, though in non-legal contexts these are sometimes referred to as international organizations as well. International organizations must also be distinguished from treaties; while all international organizations are founded on a treaty, many treaties (e.g., the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)) do not establish an international organization and rely purely on the parties for their administration. International organizations can be categorised in two main ways: by their membership, and by their function. International organizations differ in who their members are and in who is permitted to join them. Membership of some organizations (global organizations) is open to all the nations of the world. This category includes the United Nations and its specialized agencies and the World Trade Organization. Some specialized agencies predate all other types. In the nineteenth century, France was the fons et origo of many of them. By this it is meant that much of the driving force to form such bodies (such as those which maintain the SI (metric system)) came from the French, and that their headquarters is in France, often in Paris. Under the Third Republic, the International Exposition of 1878 in that city held a great number of meetings of such international organizations - as opposed to the preceding regimes. The motivation was that to keep France a republic and not slip back into either a monarchist or Bonapartist regime, the republicans would underscore their inheritance of the crusading nature of the French Revolution against feudal cultural remnants within France, which had been generalized to the rest of feudal Europe, eventually to the world. Some conclude from this example that internationalism often has national origins, at the difference of globalism. Other organizations are only open to members from a particular region or continent of the world, like European Union, African Union, ASEAN and so on. Finally, some organizations base their membership on other criteria: cultural or historical links (the Commonwealth of Nations, La Francophonie, the Community of Portuguese Language Countries), level of economic development or type of economy (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), Organization of Petroleum-Exporting Countries (OPEC)), or religion (Organization of the Islamic Conference). Were it to come about, the ultimate international organization would be a Federal World Government. The Union of International Associations provides information on international organizations.

Examples of global organizations


- United Nations, its specialized agencies, and associated organizations
- International Hydrographic Organization
- World Trade Organization
- Universal Postal Union

Examples of regional organizations

Universal Postal Union Europe:
- European Union (EU)
- Council of Europe
- European Free Trade Association
- European Space Agency
- European Patent Organisation Asia:
- Asian Cooperation Dialogue (ACD)
- Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
- South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
- Gulf Cooperation Council Eurasia:
- Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
- Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO)
- Eurasian Economic Community
- Central Asian Cooperation Organization
- GUAM Africa:
- African Union
- Conseil de l'Entente
- Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS)
- Southern African Development Community (SADC)
- Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)
- Arab Maghreb Union Western Hemisphere:
- Organization of American States (OAS)
- South American Community of Nations
- Mercosur
- Andean Community
- Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
- Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS)
- Central American Parliament
- Rio Group
- NAFTA Trans-atlantic:
- North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)
- Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Pacific:
- Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
- Pacific Islands Forum
- Secretariat of the Pacific Community

Organizations formed on miscellaneous membership criteria


- Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
- Organization of Petroleum-Exporting Countries (OPEC)
- Commonwealth of Nations
- La Francophonie
- Comunidade dos países de língua portuguesa (CPLP)
- Organization of Ibero-American States (OEI)
- Unión Latina
- Non-Aligned Movement
- Arab League
- Organization of the Islamic Conference
- Sister Cities International

Financial international organizations


- Bank for International Settlements
- International Monetary Fund (IMF)
- World Bank Group

See also


- List of organizations
- List of international organizations
- Supranational union, Supranationalism
- Intergovernmentalism
- International decoration
- Environmental organizations
- Trade bloc
- Organizations with .INT domain names
- List of international trade topics __NOTOC__
- Category:International relations Category:Lists of organizations Category:International trade ja:国際機関 zh-min-nan:Kok-chè cho·-chit

Euro

:For other uses, see (disambiguation) or EUR (disambiguation). The euro (€; ISO 4217 code EUR, Unicode U+20AC) is the currency of twelve European Union member states: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain, collectively known as the Eurozone/Euroland. The euro is the result of the most significant monetary reform in Europe since the Roman Empire. Although the euro can be seen simply as a mechanism for perfecting the Single European Market, facilitating free trade among the members of the Eurozone, it is also regarded by its founders as a key part of the project of European political integration. Monaco, San Marino, and the Vatican City, which formerly used the French franc or the Italian lira as their currency, now use the euro as their currency and are licensed to mint their own euro coins in small amounts, even though they are not EU states. The euro is also used for payment of debt in other European non-EU jurisdictions such as Montenegro, Kosovo and Andorra. The euro is administered by the European System of Central Banks (ESCB), composed of the European Central Bank (ECB) and the Eurozone central banks operating in member states. The ECB (headquartered in Frankfurt am Main, Germany) has sole authority to set monetary policy; the other members of the ESCB participate in the printing, minting and distribution of notes and coins, and the operation of the Eurozone payment system. coins coins

Characteristics

:Main articles: euro coins, euro banknotes The euro is divided into 100 cents. In the English language, the form "cent" is officially required to be used in legislation in the singular and in the plural, though the natural plural cents is recommended for use in material aimed at the general public. (For more information on language and the euro, see the relevant section below.) All euro coins have a common side showing the denomination (value) and a national side showing an image specifically chosen by the country that issued it; the monarchies often have a picture of their reigning monarch, other countries usually have their national symbols. All the different coins can be used in all the participating member states: for example, a euro coin bearing an image of the Spanish king is legal tender not only in Spain, but also in all the other nations where the euro is in use. There are €2, €1, 50c, 20c, 10c, 5c, 2c and 1c coins, though the latter two are not generally used in Finland or the Netherlands (but are still legal tender). Euro banknotes have a common design for each denomination on both sides. Notes are issued in the following amounts: €500, €200, €100, €50, €20, €10, and €5. Some higher denominations are not issued in some countries, though again, are legal tender. There is a Europe-wide clearing system for large transactions, set up prior to the launch of the euro - [http://www.ecb.int/paym/target/html/index.en.html TARGET]. For retail payments, several arrangements are used and the general rule is that an intra-eurozone transfer shall cost the same as a domestic one. Credit card charging and ATM withdrawals within the eurozone also are charged as if they were domestic. Paper based payment orders, such as cheques, are still domestic based.

Transition

The euro was established by the provisions in the 1992 Maastricht Treaty on European Union that was used to establish an economic and monetary union. In order to participate in the new currency, member states had to meet strict criteria such as a budget deficit of less than three per cent of GDP, a debt ratio of less than sixty per cent of GDP, combined with low inflation and interest rates close to the EU average. Due to differences in national conventions for rounding and significant digits, all conversion between the national currencies had to be carried out using the process of triangulation via the euro. The definitive values in euro of these subdivisions (which represent the exchange rates at which the currency entered the euro) are as follows:
- 13.7603 Austrian schillings (ATS)
- 40.3399 Belgian francs (BEF)
- 2.20371 Dutch gulden (NLG)
- 5.94573 Finnish markka (FIM)
- 6.55957 French francs (FRF)
- 1.95583 German Mark (DEM)
- 0.787564 Irish pounds (IEP)
- 1936.27 Italian lire (ITL)
- 40.3399 Luxembourg francs (LUF)
- 200.482 Portuguese escudos (PTE)
- 166.386 Spanish pesetas (ESP) The above rates were determined by the Council of the European Union, based on a recommendation from the European Commission based on the market rates on 31 December 1998, so that one ECU (European Currency Unit) would equal one euro. (The European Currency Unit was an accounting unit used by the EU, based on the currencies of the member states; it was not a currency in its own right.) These rates were set by Council Regulation 2866/98 (EC), of 31 December 1998. They could not be set earlier, because the ECU depended on the closing exchange rate of the non-euro currencies (principally the pound sterling) that day. Greece failed to meet the criteria for joining initially, so it did not join the common currency on 1 January, 1999. It was admitted two years later, on 1 January 2001, at the following exchange rate:
- 340.750 Greek drachmas (GRD) The procedure used to fix the irrevocable conversion rate between the drachma and the euro was different, since the euro by then was already two years old. While the conversion rates for the initial eleven currencies were determined only hours before the euro was introduced, the conversion rate for the Greek drachma was fixed several months beforehand, in Council Regulation 1478/2000 (EC), of 19 June 2000. The currency was introduced in non-physical form (travellers' cheques, electronic transfers, banking, etc.) at midnight on 1 January, 1999, when the national currencies of participating countries (the Eurozone) ceased to exist independently in that their exchange rates were locked at fixed rates against each other, effectively making them mere non-decimal subdivisions of the euro. The euro thus became the successor to the European Currency Unit (ECU). The notes and coins for the old currencies, however, continued to be used as legal tender until new notes and coins were introduced on 1 January 2002. The changeover period during which the former currencies' notes and coins were exchanged for those of the euro lasted about two months, until 28 February 2002. The official date on which the national currencies ceased to be legal tender varied from member state to member state. The earliest date was in Germany; the mark officially ceased to be legal tender on 31 December 2001, though the exchange period lasted two months. The final date was 28 February 2002, by which all national currencies ceased to be legal tender in their respective member states. (Note that some of these dates were earlier than was originally planned.) However, even after the official date, they continued to be accepted by national central banks for several years up to forever (Austria, Germany, Ireland, Spain). The earliest coins to become non-convertible were the Portuguese escudos, which ceased to have monetary value after 31 December 2002, although banknotes do remain exchangeable until 2022. Although some countries are not printing the €500 and €200 banknotes, all banknotes are legal tender throughout the Eurozone. Finland decided not to mint or circulate one-cent and two-cent coins, except in small numbers for collectors. All cash transactions in Finland ending in one or two cents are rounded down and three or four cents are rounded up. Despite this convention, the one-cent and two-cent coins are still legal tender in Finland.

Participation in the economic and monetary union

:Main article: Eurozone

Countries using the euro

At present the member states officially using the euro are Austria, Belgium, Finland, France (except Pacific territories using the CFP franc), Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. Overseas territories of some Eurozone countries, such as French Guiana, Réunion, Saint-Pierre et Miquelon, and Martinique, also use the euro. These countries together are frequently referred to as the "Eurozone", "Euroland" or more rarely as "Eurogroup". Monaco, San Marino, and Vatican City previously used currencies that were replaced by the euro, and now mint their own euro coins by virtue of [http://europa.eu.int/scadplus/leg/en/lvb/l25040.htm agreements] concluded with EU member states (Italy in the case of San Marino and Vatican City, and France in the case of Monaco), on behalf of the European Community. Andorra, Montenegro, and Kosovo also used currencies that were replaced by the euro (the French franc and Spanish peseta in the case of Andorra, and the German mark in the case of Montenegro and Kosovo). They have now adopted the euro as their de facto currencies, without having entered into any legal arrangements with the EU that explicitly permit them to do so. In October 2004, Andorra began negotiating a monetary agreement with the European Union that would allow the country to issue euro coins as Monaco, San Marino, and the Vatican City do. Many of the foreign currencies that were pegged to European currencies are now pegged to the euro. For example, the Cape Verdean escudo used to be pegged to the Portuguese escudo, but is now pegged to the euro. Bosnia-Herzogovina uses a convertible mark which was pegged to the Deutsche mark but is now pegged to the euro. Similarly the CFP franc, CFA franc and Comorian franc, all once pegged to the French franc, are now pegged to the euro. The euro is widely accepted in Cape Verde already on an informal basis, and in November 2004, during a meeting in Portugal, the prime minister of Cape Verde considered formally adopting the euro as his country's currency. Also East Timor resumed using the Portuguese Escudo as legal tender in 1999, when the escudo was already a subdivision of the euro. There was no changeover as the USD was later introduced as sole legal tender in the territory. Since December 2002, North Korea has switched from the dollar as its official currency for all foreign transactions to the euro. The euro has since then also replaced the dollar in large parts of the blackmarket and in shops where the dollar was used earlier. In total, the euro is the official currency in 31 states and territories. Also, 27 states and territories that have a national currency are also pegged to the euro including fourteen West African countries including Senegal and Cameroon, three French overseas territories including French Polynesia and New Caledonia, two African island countries where the currency was formerly pegged to the Portuguese or French currency, three former Communist countries where the currency was pegged to the German mark including Macedonia. Morocco, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia and Hungary are also pegged to the euro.

EU members outside the Eurozone

The ten newest European Union members are required by their treaties of accession to eventually use the euro, as eventual adoption of the euro was part of their accession agreements. Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Slovenia and Slovakia have already joined Denmark in the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, ERM II. The dates these ten states hope to complete the third stage of the EMU vary: 1 January, 2007 for Estonia, Slovenia and Lithuania [http://www.lb.lt/news/pg.dll?lng=EN&did=1014 1](since they are already part of ERM II); 1 January, 2008 for Cyprus; 2008 for Latvia and Malta; 2009 for Slovakia; 2010 and later for the Czech Republic, Poland and Hungary. Estonia finalised the design for the country's coins' reverse side in late 2004. [http://www.eestipank.info/pub/en/majandus/euroopaliit/euro/kavand/_1kava.html 1] [http://www.eestipank.info/pub/en/yldine/press/pressiteated/pt2004/_20041215.html 2] The United Kingdom and Sweden have no plans at present to adopt the euro; however Sweden, unlike the UK and Denmark, does not have a formal opt-out from the monetary union (the third stage of EMU) and therefore must, in theory at least, convert to the euro at some point. Notwithstanding this, on 14 September 2003, a Swedish referendum was held on the euro, the result of which was a rejection of the common currency. The Swedish government has argued that such a line of action is possible since one of the requirements for Eurozone membership is a prior two-year membership of the ERM II. By simply choosing to stay outside the exchange rate mechanism, the Swedish government is provided a formal loophole avoiding the theoretical requirement of adopting the euro. Sweden's major parties continue to believe that it would be in the national interest to join. UK eurosceptics believe that the single currency is merely a stepping stone to the formation of a unified European superstate, and that removing Britain's ability to set its own interest rates will have detrimental effects on its economy. The contrary view is that, since intra-European exports make up 60% of the UK's total, it eases the Single Market by removing currency risk. An interesting parallel can be seen in the 19th century discussions concerning the possibility of the UK joining the Latin Monetary Union [http://www.oup.co.uk/pdf/0-19-924366-2.pdf]. The UK government has set five economic tests that must be passed before it can recommend that the UK join the euro. It assessed these tests in October 1997 and June 2003, and decided on both occasions that they had not all been passed. All three main political parties in the UK have promised to hold a referendum before joining the euro, and opinion polls consistently report a majority of the public to be opposed to joining the euro. Denmark negotiated a number of opt-out clauses from the Maastricht treaty after it had been rejected in a first referendum (namely, Denmark attained an opt-out from joint defence, common currency, judicial cooperation, and European citizenship). The modified treaty was then accepted in another referendum one year after the first one. In 2000, another referendum was held in Denmark regarding the euro; once more, the population decided to stay outside the eurozone for now. However, Danish politicians have suggested that debate on abolishing the four opt-out clauses may be re-opened in late 2005 or early 2006. In addition, Denmark has pegged its krone to the euro (€1 = DKr7.460,38 ± 2.25%), something which Sweden has not done.

Bulgaria and Romania

Although Bulgaria is not a member state yet (member as of 1 January 2007), the Bulgarian National Bank and the Bulgarian government have agreed on the introduction of the euro in mid-2009, when the Bulgarian National Bank is expected to become part of the EMU and will receive the right to issue Bulgarian euro coins. The early accession to the EMU is due to the extremely tight monetary policy currently in use, which is the result of Bulgaria's agreement with the Monetary Board. In 1999 the Bulgarian currency was re-denominated (1 new lev = 1000 old levs) and the value of the lev was fixed to one German mark, therefore its value has since been fixed in relation to the euro. Even at this point of time Bulgaria has fulfilled the great majority of the EMU membership criteria. As for Romania (member as of 1 January 2007), it is likely to join the Eurozone in the 2010–12 period. However, there is a clear strategy of the Romanian government at this point to introduce the euro.

Effects of a single currency

The introduction of a single currency for many separate countries presents a number of advantages and disadvantages for the participating nations. Opinions differ on the actual effects of the euro so far, as most of them will take years to understand. Theories and predictions abound.

Removal of exchange rate risk

One of the most important benefits of the euro will be lowered exchange rate risks, which will make it easier to invest across borders. The risks of changes in the value of respective currencies has always made it risky for companies or individuals to invest outside their own currency zone. Profits could be quickly eliminated as a result of exchange rate fluctuations. As a result, most investors have to either accept the risk or hedge their bets, resulting in further costs on the financial markets. The same is true for exporters and importers. Consequently, it is less appealing to invest outside one’s own currency zone. The Eurozone greatly increases the potentially “risk free” investment area. Since Europe’s economy is heavily dependent on inter-European exports, the benefits of this effect can hardly be overstated. This is particularly important for countries whose currencies have traditionally fluctuated a great deal such as the Mediterranean nations.

Removal of conversion fees

A benefit is the removal of bank transaction charges that previously were a cost to both individuals and businesses when exchanging from one national currency to another. Although not an enormous cost, multiplied thousands of times, the savings add up across the entire economy.

Deeper financial markets

Another significant advantage of switching to the euro is the creation of deeper financial markets. Financial markets on the continent are expected to be far more liquid and flexible than they were in the past. There will be more competition for, and availability of financial products across the union. This will reduce the financial servicing costs to businesses and possibly even individual consumers across the continent. The costs associated with public debt will also decrease. It is expected that the broader, deeper markets will lead to increased stock market capitalisation and investment. Larger, more internationally competitive financial and business institutions may arise.

Price parity

Another effect of the common European currency is that differences in prices—in particular in price levels—should decrease. Differences in prices can trigger arbitrage, e.g. artificial trade in a commodity between countries purely to exploit the price differential, which will tend to equalise prices across the euro area. This should also result in increased competition between companies, which should help to contain inflation and which therefore will be beneficial to consumers. Similarly, price transparency across borders should benefit consumers find lower cost goods or services.

Competitive funding

Competitive funding is also a plus for many countries (and companies) that adopted the euro.

Macroeconomic stability

An important side-effect of the euro will be greater macroeconomic stability for the entire continent. Much of Europe has been susceptible to economic problems such as inflation throughout the last 50 years. Inflation is a very damaging phenomenon from most of society’s perspective. It discourages investment, can cause social unrest, and causes problems for taxation. However, many countries are unable or unwilling to deal with serious inflationary pressures. They often have other priorities that compromise their ability to deal with inflation. Sometimes their economic clout is simply insufficient. However, there have been models, particularly with largely independent central banks, that have successfully countered inflation. One such bank was the Bundesbank in Germany; since the European Central Bank is modeled off of the Bundesbank, is independent of the pressures of national governments, and has a mandate to keep inflationary pressures low, many economists foresee a period of increasing price stability in Europe after the euro’s introduction.

Less-specific monetary policy

Some economists are concerned about the possible dangers of adopting a single currency for a large and diverse area. Because the Eurozone has a single monetary policy, and so a single interest rate, set by the ECB, it cannot be fine-tuned for the economic situation in each individual country (however, prior to the introduction of the euro, exchange rates were already very much in sync after the latest european currency crisis in the early 1990s). Public investment and fiscal policy in each country is thus the only way in which government-led economic stimulus can be introduced specific to each region or nation. This inflexible interest rate might stifle growth in some areas, while over-promoting it in others. The result could be extended periods of economic depression in some areas of the continent, disadvantaged by the central interest rate. Given such a situation resentment and friction within the community, and toward the bank, might well increase. Others point out that in today's globalised economy, individual countries do not have power to effectively manage their monetary policy, as it creates other imbalances. This effect was already visible in the last European currency crises of 1992, when the Bundesbank was effectively coordinating monetary policy for the whole continent. Some proponents of the euro point out that the Eurozone is similar in size and population to the United States, which has a single currency and a single monetary policy set by the Federal Reserve. However, the individual states that make up the USA have less regional autonomy and a more homogeneous economy than the nations of the EU. Of particular concern in accordance with this theory is the notion that the economies of the EU may not all be 'in sync'— each may be at a different stage in the boom and bust cycle, or just be experiencing different inflationary pressures. Labour mobility is also much lower in the Eurozone than across the United States, largely due to the vast differences in language and culture between European nations, and despite labour, capital and goods full mobility rules. It can also be argued that a single currency works for the USA because the US dollar is a hegemonic currency. Before the euro, eighty per cent of the world's currency reserves were held in US dollars. This gives the US economy a huge subsidy in that reserve dollars are invested in US institutions or foreign institutions under US control. This subsidy helps cushion the effects of a possible strong dollar hurting certain regions of the USA. If the euro were to become either a hegemonic currency replacing the dollar or a co-hegemonic currency equal in reserve status to the dollar, some of the subsidy the USA gains would be transferred to the EU and help balance out some of the problems of the present heterogeneous economic structure still in place.

A new reserve currency?

The euro will probably become one of two, or perhaps three, major global reserve currencies. Currently, international currency exchange is dominated by the American dollar. The dollar is used by banks as a stable reserve on which to ensure their liquidity and international transactions and investments are often made in dollars. What makes a currency attractive for foreign transactions? Primarily, a proven track record of stability, a broad, well developed financial market to dispose of the currency in, and proven acceptability to others. The Euro will almost certainly be able to match these criteria at least as well as the U.S. dollar, so given some time to become accepted, it will likely begin to take its place alongside the dollar as one of the world’s major international currencies. There are several benefits to reserve currencies of being such an internationally acceptable currency. If the euro were to become a reserve currency it would benefit member countries by lowering the service charges on their debts. Since the currency would be so broadly acceptable it would make the premiums paid to debt holders lower, since the risk to the borrower is lower. It is estimated that the American government currently saves 10-15 billion dollars a year on 2 trillion dollars of international debt because of this principle. The issuer of the reserve currency is freer to pursue macroeconomic policy adjustments to suit its own needs in terms of financing its debt, or influencing other countries. Reserve status would also lower the cost of many commodities for Europeans.

The euro and oil

The Eurozone consumes more imported petroleum than the United States. This would mean that more euros than US dollars would flow into the OPEC nations, but oil is priced by those nations in US dollars only. There have been frequent discussions at OPEC about pricing oil in euros, which would have various effects, among them, requiring nations to hold stores of euros to buy oil, rather than the US dollars that they hold now. Venezuela under Hugo Chávez has been a vocal proponent of this scheme, despite selling most of its own oil to the United States. Another proponent was Saddam Hussein of Iraq, which holds the world's second largest oil reserves. Since 2000 Iraq had used the Euro as oil export currency. In 2002, Iraq changed its US dollars into euro, a few months prior to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. If implemented by the OPEC, the changeover to Euro would be a transfer of a 'float' that presently subsidises the United States to subsidise the European Union instead. Another effect would be that the price of oil in the Eurozone would more closely follow the world price. When oil prices skyrocketed to almost 50 USD/barrel in August 2004, the oil price in euros didn't change nearly as much because of the concurrent rise in the exchange rate of the euro to the US dollar (to an exchange rate of EUR 1.00 = USD 1.33 in December 2004). Similarly, should oil prices lower significantly, together with the USD/EUR exchange rate, the oil price in the Eurozone would not fall as much. On the other hand, if the exchange rate and the oil price move in different directions, oil price changes are magnified. Pricing oil in euros would nullify this dependency of European oil prices on the USD/EUR exchange rate.

Euro exchange rate

Against the U.S. dollar

After the introduction of the euro, its exchange rate against other currencies, especially the US dollar, declined heavily. At its introduction in 1999, the euro was traded at USD1.18; on 26 October 2000, it fell to an all time low of $0.8228 per euro. It then began what at the time was thought to be a recovery; by the beginning of 2001 it had risen to nearly $0.96. It declined again, although less than previously, reaching a low of $0.8344 on 6 July 2001 before commencing a steady appreciation. In the wake of U.S. corporate scandals, the two currencies reached parity on 15 July 2002, and by the end of 2002 the euro had reached $1.04 as it climbed further. On 23 May 2003, the euro surpassed its initial ($1.18=€1.00) trading value for the first time. At the end of 2004, it had reached a peak of $1.3668 per euro (€0.7316 per $) as the US dollar fell against all major currencies. At that time, some analysts expected the dollar to continue to fall, a few even suggesting $1.60 per euro by the end of 2005, fuelled by the so called twin deficit of the US accounts. However, the dollar recovered in 2005, rising to $1.18 per euro (€0.85 per $) in July 2005 (and stable throughout the second half of 2005). The fast increase in US interest rates during 2005 had much to do with this trend.

Currencies pegged to euro

Drivers

Part of the euro's strength in the period 2001-2004 was thought to be due to more attractive interest rates in Europe than in the United States. The US Federal Reserve had maintained lower rates than the ECB for these years, despite key European economies, notably Germany, growing relatively slowly or not at all. This is attributed in part to the ECB's duty to check inflation across the Eurozone, which in high-performing countries such as Republic of Ireland is above the ECB's target. However, although the interest rate differential formed part of the backdrop, the main a posteriori justification for the euro's continuing ascent against the dollar was the concern over the huge unsustainable US current account deficits. The market has been awash with concerns about the US twin deficits, which have been a key driver of dollar weakness. The US budget deficit is about $427 billion, or 3.7% of gross domestic product (GDP), while the current account—the broadest trade measure since it adds investment flows—hit a record $166.18bn shortfall in the second quarter of 2004. A key factor is that a number of Asian currencies are rising less against the dollar than is the euro. In the case of China, the renminbi was until recently pegged against the dollar, whilst the Japanese yen is supported by intervention (and the threat of it) by the Bank of Japan. This means much of the pressure from a falling dollar is translated into a rising euro. The euro's climb from its lows began shortly after it was introduced as a cash currency. In the time between 1999 and 2002, eurosceptics believed that the weak euro was a sign that the euro experiment was doomed to fail. It may be that its weakness in this period was due to low confidence in a currency that did not exist in "real" form. While the overt conversion to notes and coins had not yet occurred, it remained possible that the project could fail. Once the euro became "real" in the sense of existing in the form of cash, confidence in the euro rose and the increasing perception that it was here to stay helped increase its value. This effect was probably significant in the euro's decline and recovery between 1999 and 2002, but other factors are more significant since then. Another factor in the early decline of the euro was that many investors and central banks sold large portions of their legacy (national) currency holdings once the irrevocable exchange rates were set, as the goal of holding multiple currencies is to dampen losses when one currency falls. Once the exchange rates between Eurozone countries were pegged against each other, holdings in German marks and French francs (for example) became identical. There is also some reason to believe that significant sums of illegally held monies were sold for dollars to avoid an official and public exchange for euros.

Consequences

Despite the euro's rise in value, as well as the value of other major and minor currencies, the US trade deficits continue to rise. Economic theory would suggest that a fall in the dollar and a rise in the euro should lead to an improvement in US exports and a decline in US imports, as the former becomes cheaper and the latter more expensive. However, this depends to some extent on how currency costs are passed down the supply chain. Furthermore, the declining dollar makes foreign investment in the US cheaper (although also reducing the return), so that continuing foreign investment may underpin the dollar to some extent. The role of the dollar as the world's de facto reserve currency helps support both the dollar and the US budget deficit — but it depends on the continued willingness of foreigners to finance both. Central banks and others finance the budget by acquiring newly-issued, dollar-denominated US government bonds, which they need to acquire dollars for. If at some point foreigners become unwilling to accept new bonds at the prevailing interest rate (perhaps because the falling dollar is reducing the bonds' value too much), the dollar will fall even more — or the US will have to raise interest rates, which would reduce economic growth. There is speculation that the strength of the euro relative to the dollar might encourage the use of the euro as an alternative reserve currency; Saddam Hussein's Iraq switched its currency reserves from dollars to euros in 2000. Moves by central banks with major reserve currency holdings such as those of India or China to switch some of their reserves from dollars to euros, or even of OPEC countries to switch the currency they trade in from dollars to euros, will further reinforce the dollar's decline. In 2004, the Bank for International Settlements reported the proportion of bank deposits held in euros rising to 20%, from 12% in 2001, and it is continuously rising. The falling dollar also raises returns for US investors from investing in foreign stocks, encouraging a switch which further depresses the dollar. The rise in the euro should dampen Eurozone exports, but there is little sign of this happening yet. The main reason is that the currencies of Euroland's major world-wide customers are also seeing their currencies rise relative to the dollar. As the current account deficits continue to rise and the US plans no austerity measures to curb foreign imports and increase exports, the situation may cause the US dollar to lose its position as a hegemonic currency replaced by either the euro or the euro and a basket of currencies.
- [http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/fds/hi/business/market_data/currency/13/12/twelve_month.stm Current dollar/euro exchange rates (BBC)]
- [http://www.ecb.int/stats/exchange/eurofxref/html/index.en.html Current and historical exchange rates against 29 other currencies (European Central Bank)]
- [http://www.kshitij.com/graphgallery/eurmth.shtml Historical exchange rate from 1971 till now]

Plural formation and grammar

:Main article: Linguistic issues concerning the euro Several linguistic issues have arisen in relation to the spelling of the words euro and cent in the many languages of the member states of the European Union, as well as in relation to grammar and the formation of plurals. Immutable word formations have been encouraged by the European Commission in usage with official EU legislation (originally in order to ensure uniform presentation on the banknotes), but the "unofficial" practice concerning the mutability (or not) of the words differs between the member states. In the English language, the form "euro" is used both in the singular and the plural in legislation, without much justification apart from an apparent wish not to have to revise older legislation. The natural plurals euros and cents are recommended (by the Translation Section of the European Commission) for use in "all material aimed at the general public