The Euro

[Don Madge]

Cyprus and Malta are adopting the Euro as their currency on the 1st January 2008.

 

Don

[twooks]

Good for them, ever get the feeling that you're on the wrong track :D :D

 

B-)

[Guest Le Thou]

Or possibly in the wrong forum !

[Hymer C 9.]

Le Thou, the comment off Don Madge is of use to all of us who travel, and if you follow the threads on this forum you will see that Don is one of the most helpful and accurate contributors we have, so please do not jump on unhelpfull comment syndrome, if you must try chatterbox all wellcome on there but please keep motorhome matters, for help, and Don has helped many on this forum as you will find out. Carol.

[docted]

I support Carol's comments, apart from all the good things she says he is a thoroughly good chap as well.

 

Docted

Vice President we love Don Madge Party

[Mike Parke]

Don Madge - 2007-11-01 7:33 PM

 

Cyprus and Malta are adopting the Euro as their currency on the 1st January 2008.

 

Don

 

 

One day common sense will prevail and the U.K. will use it along with the rest of Europe!!

 

Regards Mike

[michele]

I must admit and I know its not hard for me but I do struggle with this Euro I still want to treat it like monopoly money and I keep saying to myself oh its only 8/9 whatever euros like that means pennys :D

[BGD]

I noticed yesterday on a news snippet that Slovakia is now also changing to the Euro on 1st Jan 2009 (I think it said 2009, may have been 2008?).

 

The Luddites on that little island just north of France are drifting ever further away from the rest of Europe.

And becoming more and more isolated is frankly just economic suicide when the EU is now the 2nd largest economy in the world.

 

If you don't wake up and smell the coffee, I fear that things are gonna get a LOT worse in the decade to come as the rest of the EU gradually turns its back on the small island.

 

As one who has lived in a Euro country for the past 5 years now - it's fantastic to go all over mainland Europe with a single currency. I don't give a damn about whose head is pictured on the notes and coins - it just works perfectly across the whole EU zone.

 

Seems to me that the only thing worse than being in the Euro, is not being in it.

 

 

[Mel E]

BGD,

 

I agree with you entirely that the UK should become a central part of Europe and I have always been pro-European. But that doesn't mean we all have to agree with every bit of what's coming out of Europe and there are three areas I don't agree with:

 

1. Giving more and more power to faceless beaurocrats but having no real voting say ourselves over either strategy (handled by Ministers who have just shown their trustworthiness over the Constitution / Treaty), or over tactics where the European Parliament is still effectively toothless (but VERY expensive).

 

2. The continuing corruption throughout most of central / southern EU over which nothing ever seems to get done despite promises, promises.

 

3. The Euro. Brilliant idea and I too love having only one currency as I travel across Europe. But ask any experienced Economist whether it is possible to have a single currency, with a single central bank calling interest rates but 20 or so (when most have joined) separate economic policies in totally different stages of development all trying to target the same 3% maximum deficit. It cannot and will not work long term. So there's got to be one single economic policy that covers taxation, social policy, unemployment, and industrial development. Try stitching that lot together!

 

The real pressure on the Euro will arise when Germany - already again the powerhouse - really steams ahead and wants higher interest rates to cool down inflation (still regarded as the bete noir of German politics after the 1930s) where France and Spain and Italy want lower rates to get the Euro down in value. The current high rate against the dollar is killing French exports, has already almost killed Spain's and Italy's.

 

Do we really want to join that maelstrom? Methinks not.

 

Mel E

====

[Basil]

Mike Parke - 2007-11-04 10:52 AM

 

Don Madge - 2007-11-01 7:33 PM

 

Cyprus and Malta are adopting the Euro as their currency on the 1st January 2008.

 

Don

 

 

One day common sense will prevail and the U.K. will use it along with the rest of Europe!!

 

Regards Mike

 

Good god I sincerely hope not!! We don't want to be dragged down to the mire that the rest of Europes economy is in and we are propping up by our net contributing payments.

I'm afraid it goes a bit deeper than just having the same coinage.

 

Bas

[Basil]

BGD - 2007-11-04 11:03 AM

 

The Luddites on that little island just north of France are drifting ever further away from the rest of Europe.

And becoming more and more isolated is frankly just economic suicide when the EU is now the 2nd largest economy in the world.

 

If you don't wake up and smell the coffee, I fear that things are gonna get a LOT worse in the decade to come as the rest of the EU gradually turns its back on the small island.

 

Seems to me that the only thing worse than being in the Euro, is not being in it.

 

 

I really hope so I would be glad to be out of it and go it alone again, quite the worst move we have ever made. Quite frankly your last comment is geriatric shoemakers. Germany in dire trouble financially, France propping up its unemployment and lazy farmers, Eurocrats making bigger mountains of grain, milk and butter to keep up the prices. British jobs being transferred to the newly developing entrants, both here and over there, and us mugs are paying for it because our economy has been by far more successful.

 

Bas

[Mike Parke]

Of course there is more to it than a single currency but if you look at the 'big picture' generally there is more for total European integration than not. Picking a few items at random:

 

They have a better system of public transport than us. (Certainly better than Norfolk anyway!!).

The Health Service seems better as an awful lot of people travel to Europe for treatment.

The 'Quality of Life' seems to me to be much better.

A lower rate of taxation and interest rates.

A better policing system.

A stricter Judicary and sentencing policy.

 

Yes it would be difficult to roll a single social, taxing, foreign policy ect. together but it could be done. We have a 'say' by voting in Euro election but, in this counrty they are well known for a low turn out. Voting, in any election, should be compulsory subject to a 'none of the above' box on the voting slip. A federal Europe would give us all a level of parity and it could be done without loss of local identity. There is corruption in all forms of government not just in the E.U. southern states, look at 'cash for honours', not just with our present leaders but througout history. A unified E.U. foreign policy would, I suggest, remove us from the obligation of having to 'toe the party line' with G.Dubya and would have saved numerous loss of life of U.K. troops in the Middle East over the years. A amalgamation of nations is never going to be a smooth transition but the longer it takes the more difficult it will become. In my idea there would be 'equal' representation by having M.E.P.s based on total country population i.e

one member for every say 100,000 head of popuation. O.k England would have more members than Wales or Scotland but not as many as France and Germany but, do not forget, we would be working for the whole and not for any single country.

Your turn to tear me apart over this but I have allways been a believer in a 'total Europe' since I voted 'Yes' in the referrendum in 1975(?). I felt them & I do now, that the European Union is a long term plan and initially it will take a lot of persuading to get the sceptical (English?) to come to terms with what they see as loss of independance ect., but surely we are , as a nation, too small to survive comfortably outside a group of other nations. I envisage that my grandchildren's grandchildren will be the first generation to really notice what a benefit it (the E.U.) will become.

 

Regards Mike.

 

 

 

[carioca]

BGD - 2007-11-04 11:03 AM

 

I noticed yesterday on a news snippet that Slovakia is now also changing to the Euro on 1st Jan 2009 (I think it said 2009, may have been 2008?).

 

The Luddites on that little island just north of France are drifting ever further away from the rest of Europe.

And becoming more and more isolated is frankly just economic suicide when the EU is now the 2nd largest economy in the world.

 

If you don't wake up and smell the coffee, I fear that things are gonna get a LOT worse in the decade to come as the rest of the EU gradually turns its back on the small island.

 

As one who has lived in a Euro country for the past 5 years now - it's fantastic to go all over mainland Europe with a single currency. I don't give a damn about whose head is pictured on the notes and coins - it just works perfectly across the whole EU zone.

 

Seems to me that the only thing worse than being in the Euro, is not being in it.

 

BGD

that's your opinion & your entitled to it. if you want to go live & obide by the rules of a "euro country" then fine you go do that but dont tell me what we should do in the country that i was born & live in

 

 

there you go my small rant over

[Vernon B]

BGD - 2007-11-04 11:03 AM

 

 

As one who has lived in a Euro country for the past 5 years now - it's fantastic to go all over mainland Europe with a single currency. I don't give a damn about whose head is pictured on the notes and coins - it just works perfectly across the whole EU zone.

 

Seems to me that the only thing worse than being in the Euro, is not being in it.

 

 

Next time you're over there put your own convenience on one side and ask your contemporaries in France, Germany and Holland what they think of being in the Euro and the drift towards a Federal Europe. You'll obviously be surprised. We're all dooooooomed

 

Vernon

 

 

[Guest Tracker]

The only vote I have ever been able to cast on Europe was for a Common MARKET - not a common government dominated by unaccountable faceless civil servants.

 

On the other hand maybe if we were ruled by faceless gutless foreigners we would not be in Iraq or Afghanistan so maybe that would not be such a bad thing?

 

But then again would we have been able to reclaim the Falklands in quite the way we did, so maybe we are better off out than in?

 

Swings and roundabouts again?

[twooks]

wow Don, betya didn't expect all this - - - - - - -

 

or did you :-> :->

 

B-)

[Basil]

Mike Parke - 2007-11-04 2:15 PM

Your turn to tear me apart over this but I have allways been a believer in a 'total Europe' since I voted 'Yes' in the referrendum in 1975(?). I felt them & I do now, that the European Union is a long term plan and initially it will take a lot of persuading to get the sceptical (English?) to come to terms with what they see as loss of independance ect., but surely we are , as a nation, too small to survive comfortably outside a group of other nations. I envisage that my grandchildren's grandchildren will be the first generation to really notice what a benefit it (the E.U.) will become.

 

Regards Mike.

 

So you are the one, you are the first person I have heard admit they voted for it! Its the same as no one admits voting Labour and then again no one seemed to vote Thatcher.

For years we have been outside a group of 'other nations' in fact we have fought bitterly over the years to stop others ruling us. Just put it to a national vote I am not a gambling man but if I was we would be out. The majority of those I speak to, and looking at most of the responses so far on here to, do not believe much good comes out of Europe and that lots of harm does.

Also its strange that you seem to believe Europe is so good, when all the asylum seekers cross many countries to get here, you have to ask why if it is so bad here!

One of the reasons that other countries in Europe have a better way of life is because they are living off the backs of us, they work less hours, have more holidays, better pensions and less stress, who are the mugs us in rip off Britain!

I apologise to Don for helping to turn the direction of the thread but I do believe it is an important related issue to your post as so many do not look past the use of the same currency and the bigger picture and implications.

 

Bas

[twooks]

michele - 2007-11-04 10:55 AM

 

I must admit and I know its not hard for me but I do struggle with this Euro I still want to treat it like monopoly money and I keep saying to myself oh its only 8/9 whatever euros like that means pennys :D

 

see if we went to the Euro you wouldn't have to keep doing that - be much easier -

 

B-)

[David Dwight]

Speaking to several French people recently, they would rather have the Franc back. They all say how the cost of living rocketed with the Euro. Remember how our cost of living went up when we went Decimal. We didnt get a chance to vote for the Common Market as we were on holiday at the time so lost our vote. They must have known we were againest it.

 

David

[Basil]

David Dwight - 2007-11-04 8:20 PM

 

Speaking to several French people recently, they would rather have the Franc back. They all say how the cost of living rocketed with the Euro. Remember how our cost of living went up when we went Decimal. We didnt get a chance to vote for the Common Market as we were on holiday at the time so lost our vote. They must have known we were againest it.

 

David

 

Yes I've heard that to.

Also thing is the Common Market was what people voted to enter, that was a whole lot a different prospect to what you have now. It was sold to the UK on being somewhere that we would be able to sell more and create more jobs not the United states of Europe that would charge us to inflict more of their wares and rules on us!

 

Bas

[BGD]

carioca - 2007-11-04 3:13 PM

 

BGD - 2007-11-04 11:03 AM

 

I noticed yesterday on a news snippet that Slovakia is now also changing to the Euro on 1st Jan 2009 (I think it said 2009, may have been 2008?).

 

The Luddites on that little island just north of France are drifting ever further away from the rest of Europe.

And becoming more and more isolated is frankly just economic suicide when the EU is now the 2nd largest economy in the world.

 

If you don't wake up and smell the coffee, I fear that things are gonna get a LOT worse in the decade to come as the rest of the EU gradually turns its back on the small island.

 

As one who has lived in a Euro country for the past 5 years now - it's fantastic to go all over mainland Europe with a single currency. I don't give a damn about whose head is pictured on the notes and coins - it just works perfectly across the whole EU zone.

 

Seems to me that the only thing worse than being in the Euro, is not being in it.

 

BGD

that's your opinion & your entitled to it. if you want to go live & obide by the rules of a "euro country" then fine you go do that but dont tell me what we should do in the country that i was born & live in

 

 

there you go my small rant over

 

 

 

Sorry Carioca - I must be missing something....where in my post did I tell you what you should do?

 

By all means express you opinion, that's exactly what this forum is for, but please don't simply misinterpret mine rather than posting your own.

 

If you have some views of your own on this subject, then do please post them to help the debate along.

 

Cheers,

 

Bruce.

 

 

 

 

[Clive]

I want to do business with the rest of Europe, not get in bed with them (apart from the odd exception that is!). Adopting the Euro means so much more than just a common currency. I say KEEP THE POUND.

What does need sorting out is the wide difference between buying and selling price at any given time. I accept that the valuations will vary but why cannot we have the option of EU or £ without any bias either way?

 

C.

 

[colin]

As I understand it L.S.D. our old currency was the euro of its day when it was first introduced by the romans, so it appears we have been there before. Joining the Euro has its attractions, but as we have had over a million economic migrants coming to this country over the last few years we must be doing something right with the economy.

[carioca]

BGD - 2007-11-04 9:43 PM

 

carioca - 2007-11-04 3:13 PM

 

BGD - 2007-11-04 11:03 AM

 

I noticed yesterday on a news snippet that Slovakia is now also changing to the Euro on 1st Jan 2009 (I think it said 2009, may have been 2008?).

 

The Luddites on that little island just north of France are drifting ever further away from the rest of Europe.

And becoming more and more isolated is frankly just economic suicide when the EU is now the 2nd largest economy in the world.

 

If you don't wake up and smell the coffee, I fear that things are gonna get a LOT worse in the decade to come as the rest of the EU gradually turns its back on the small island.

 

As one who has lived in a Euro country for the past 5 years now - it's fantastic to go all over mainland Europe with a single currency. I don't give a damn about whose head is pictured on the notes and coins - it just works perfectly across the whole EU zone.

 

Seems to me that the only thing worse than being in the Euro, is not being in it.

 

BGD

that's your opinion & your entitled to it. if you want to go live & obide by the rules of a "euro country" then fine you go do that but dont tell me what we should do in the country that i was born & live in

 

 

there you go my small rant over

 

 

 

Sorry Carioca - I must be missing something....where in my post did I tell you what you should do?

 

By all means express you opinion, that's exactly what this forum is for, but please don't simply misinterpret mine rather than posting your own.

 

If you have some views of your own on this subject, then do please post them to help the debate along.

 

Cheers,

 

Bruce.

 

 

 

bruce by stating that "Seems to me that the only thing worse than being in the Euro, is not being in it."

is this not implying that we should be using the euro in britain? if not then i'm wrong but if it is then i'm right

[BGD]

Clive - 2007-11-04 10:14 PM

 

I want to do business with the rest of Europe, not get in bed with them (apart from the odd exception that is!). Adopting the Euro means so much more than just a common currency. I say KEEP THE POUND.

What does need sorting out is the wide difference between buying and selling price at any given time. I accept that the valuations will vary but why cannot we have the option of EU or £ without any bias either way?

 

C.

 

I suspect you know the answer really Clive - it's of course because you are buying currency from someone who makes a profit by trading it with you, and when you sell, they'll only offer you less, in order to make a profit on that transaction too. They'll then sell on the currency you sold to them at a higher price again, etc etc etc.

If they didn't make any profit on there currrency transactions, they wouldn't offer them to you.

 

In essence they are doing business with the rest of Europe, just as you want to: for a realistic trading profit and return-on-capital employed.

 

Wanna get rid of that trading cost (privately, or as a UK business)? I guess the only way would be if the UK were to join the Eurozone.