The paper used for the banknotes has a distinctive feel and an intaglio, or sunken and incised print, as well as a watermark, a security thread, a see-through register and a foil hologram, all to guard against counterfeiting and to aid recognition. But the bad guys are still going to try. The euro-sleuths believe that the challenge will be enormous, especially in the months before and after the changeover, the greatest peacetime logistical operation of its kind. The fact that we're not in the eurozone does not mean that UK criminals will not be involved in counterfeiting the euro. No one, apart from the Germans, likes the idea of Eurocops running around in blue uniforms emblazoned with yellow stars, not least because of the sheer diversity of EU legal systems and traditions.
Governments certainly agree that the organisation has hit the big time.
The euro is so important it will change that way of thinking. Plans are already being made to move Europol to a larger headquarters in the Hague and the counterfeiting unit is being beefed up into a special task force for the changeover. If it turns out to be a damp squib at the end of the day, then at least we were prepared. We are ready for the worst-case scenario.