Counting on the single currency

Date: 04/09/1997

Are officials at the European Commission's Directorate-General for Economic Affairs (DG II) in possession of a crystal ball?

Anyone who has been following the extremely painful birth of the single currency in any detail will be aware that when it comes to the euro, the only thing that is certain is that nothing is certain - particularly on the touchy subject of exactly when the long-awaited currency will finally materialise.

But while finance ministers across the EU tear their hair out over whether they will be able to balance the books in time, DGII appears to have no qualms.

So confident are its experts of the euro arriving at the predicted hour that the Commission's recently updated website on the single currency boasts an electronic 'countdown' device displaying exactly how many days, hours, minutes and even seconds remain before 'e-day'.

If this trend continues, it must only be a matter of time before scientists at the institution's Agriculture Directorate-General unveil a similar device allowing officials to count chickens before they are hatched.