Strauss-Kahn also took great pride in the fact that France was the first country to begin minting its share of the 70 billion euro coins which will be needed. Unfortunately, France's head start has come a cropper. Turns out the European Union got the specifications wrong. The vending machine problem requires a redesign. In fact, the bill would have been even higher had workers at the mint in Pessac not gone on strike for two weeks.
Enthusiasm can be expensive.
The fog may finally be clearing in the long-running confusion over airline alliances in Europe. For months, major carriers on both sides of the Atlantic have been circling Brussels waiting for permission to join forces for the coming global battle for superiority in commercial aviation. The European Union gave its blessing to two such linkups last week, but demanded substantial concessions in return. British Airways and American Airlines must relinquish up to 267 of their weekly landing and takeoff slots at Heathrow and Gatwick airports to give possible competitors a better shot at the lucrative trans-Atlantic market. Competition Commissioner Karel van Miert demanded similar rollbacks for the existing alliance of Lufthansa, SAS and United Airlines, which will have to give up 108 slots in Frankfurt and Copenhagen and cut back flights from Frankfurt to Chicago and to Washington.