The British are deeply reluctant to relinquish their pounds and pence and are remaining out of the euro zone, along with the Danes and the Swedes. Polls in Sweden suggest that the main preoccupation there is that monetary union will lead to federalism. The Greeks cannot meet the single currency criteria, but they are making huge efforts to catch up. The passage to the single currency has been achieved with little public assent. Some talk of a ''democratic deficit,'' although the issue has been discussed and approved by the European Parliament.
Money goes to the heart of people's lives.
It is their retirement, their security, their children's education, their hopes and their fears. For all the talk of new economic opportunities and of broader horizons, many are afraid of letting go of the familiar, of adopting strange new bank notes and coins without character, without roots in history. Yet while there is no great show of enthusiasm, Europeans do not want to be left on the sidelines by what is in effect a revolution. Monetary union will come into being eight months from now. Between now and then, governments will attempt to convince their citizens that the euro is in their best interests.