The answer, for the most part, is that the wad of Spanish pesetas
or Austrian schillings stuffed in a drawer can only be converted to
euros at a branch of the respective country's national bank.
Legally, swapping your foreign money for euros can't be done by
businesses or even banks and bureaux de change. Which means, unless
you want to send cash through the mail to one of those national
banks, you need to do it in person.
There are also time limits (Portugal won't redeem coins anymore)
and restrictions on how much can be exchanged (Ireland will only do
3,800 punts). For complete information, including addresses, phone
numbers, and a nifty currency converter, check out the European
Central
Bank's Web site at
www.euro.ecb.int and at
www.ecb.int/change/bn01.htm#limits.
- JOSH SENS
EURO-ENGLAND
Denmark opted out of the euro and
Sweden didn't qualify. But
neither country's absence has attracted as much attention as that
of Great
Britain, the other noneuro European state.
In fact, one of the biggest questions in British politics today is
whether Britain will vote to join the euro. Prime Minister Tony
Blair says he favors joining, but his Labor Party is split over the
issue, and most opinion polls show the country evenly divided.
Blair, meanwhile, says he'll hold referendum only after his
government publishes a report this summer on the so-called Five
Economic Tests - whether the euro will benefit Britain.
"Will Britain join? I don't think it's a question of if but when,"
says
Bob Uhler, the chief executive officer for MWH Global, a
global engineering and construction company with some two dozen
offices in
Europe. "It's like putting dye in the water. No matter
how much you want to take it out, it's awfully hard to do. It's
going to be increasingly difficult to remain in the European
Community and not be in the euro."