Really, Blatham your searing honesty can be quite painful sometimes. Remember you have a duty above and beyond your perosnal affectations, to Canada, to Liberal Values, and to the ideal Man, who some of us admire, and some aspire to. And losing to a girly ain't part of it ok? :wink:
Steve, I look at blatham's admission from another perspective; he probably didn't defend himself, and I admire that 'courage.' I've witnessed my step-father beat up on our mother once too often, and made it a life-long promise never to hit a girl.
Euro-zone = 12 States + Kosovo + Monaco + Vatican as far as I can remember (it's 6 AM here
)
If everything works well, the first of the 10 new members will join the Euro-zone in 2008.
EDIT : Spelling :wink:
Wellcome to A2K, Ning.
And, yes, you remember correctly (I think so: same time here :wink: ).
Walter Hinteler wrote:Wellcome to A2K, Ning.
And, yes, you remember correctly (I think so: same time here :wink: ).
Hello Walter. I don't live far from Germany since I live in Strasbourg area(Straßburg / Elsass auf Deutsch, ich denke
)
EDIT : I have forgotten Andorre in the Euro Zone.
I can see the european parlament from my window
Salü! One of my favourite regions in France, l'Alsace!
I have to wonder what the difficulties surrounding the drafting and adopting of a constitution presages for the EU ... and for The Euro. A common politico-economic nfrastructure probably remains beyond Europe's grasp. Polarization brought on by Franco-German parochial interests are merely indicative of deeper underlying problems confronting the concept of a viable union. As it seems to me presently, without major change and accommodation, the EU is an idea who's time has not yet come. A major negative for the Euro is precisely the Franco-German issue; between them, the two are the foundation of the Euro's viability. 2004 will be a critical year in both the development of the Union and the stabilityl of the Euro. For either to survive, the other must prosper. That either will prosper is not a given.
Quote:parochial:
1 : of or relating to a church parish
2 : of or relating to a parish as a unit of local government
3 : confined or restricted as if within the borders of a parish : limited in range or scope (as to a narrow area or region)
Could you please say, why you are focussing again on France and Germany and not looking at the other 13+ "stoppers"? :wink:
timber, That the EU will prosper must be taken in context to the world's economy - don't you think?
Not so much focus on France and Germany, Walter, as focus on overall impediments to effective integration and unification. There appears little commitment to compromise from either the Big Two or the others. I think nationalism and language differences are major stumbling blocks ... big problems for real progress toward the formation of a viable economic bloc.
As to my use of the word "parochial", it was in the secular sense of "confined to self-interest".
c.i., regardless what the World Economy does, without a firm, stable underlying, unified administrational structure, spanning both domestic and foreign policy, political as well as fiscal, the EU is a fiction, and that does not bode well for its currency. As has been mentioned before, the Euro is an accepted currency, not an established currency. Its continued acceptance rides entirely on the prospects of the EU.
timber, If it's not "an established currency," why are the world currency markets trading it?
CI
What will happen to the value of the Euro if the EU falls and breaks apart like a Humpty Dumpty?
au1929 wrote:CI
What will happen to the value of the Euro if the EU falls and breaks apart like a Humpty Dumpty?
Why should the EU fall and break? Even in the worst case, there will be at least even more than the 6 founding members!
Walter.
Why, because anything can happen. Europe is still a continent that is made up of nations that have been at each others throats for 1000 years. Nationalism and old hatreds in all likelihood still exist. In any event if that should happen can the Euro remain a viable currency.
au1929 wrote:Walter.
Why, because anything can happen. Europe is still a continent that is made up of nations that have been at each others throats for 1000 years. Nationalism and old hatreds in all likelihood still exist. In any event if that should happen can the Euro remain a viable currency.
Modern european countries aren't older than 300 years.
And I wonder if any European can tell if his/her family was in the country where he/she live 500 years ago.
Ning wrote:
Modern european countries aren't older than 300 years.
And I wonder if any European can tell if his/her family was in the country where he/she live 500 years ago.
There are some :wink: ... and I can
.
(I still live just 20 miles away from the place, the first Hinteler signed under a document in 1287.)
Ning
The nations have existed as they are for over a 1000 years. Take Poland for instance although in it's existence it has been a sovereign nation on and off several times it was always to the people Poland. In fact my mother was born in what was called Russian Poland. The people always considered themselves Poles not Russians. Another prime example would be the Balkans. In essence borders in Europe may change but the people do not.
