BRUSSELS -- The introduction of the euro in 12 of the 15 member states of the European Union has been an unqualified success. The changeover had none of the hitches and glitches that many -- including myself -- thought would mar its early days.
To everybody's surprise there was no mass hysteria as people pocketed their change in euros, no chaos among cashiers in Europe's shops and supermarkets, no flood of counterfeit money to undermine global confidence in the currency -- no ammunition for Britain's xenophobic tabloid press in its drive for English isolationism. Instead it all went so well that the euro became positively fashionable.
This trend has diminished somewhat with the passage of time, but the job has been done: The successful single currency has arrived. Yet it is this very success that poses an enormous dilemma for British Prime Minister Tony Blair. Britain can no longer hide behind the procrastination of "wait and see."