UK Euro watch - June 2009

This is our monthly round-up of BBC content touching the possibility of the UK entering EMU and adopting the Euro.

UK Euro adoption was briefly a hot topic in the first half June, largely due to reports of Peter Mandelson's opinions. After that, all went quiet. He may have slipped this in to divert attention from the Government's shocking results in the Euro elections and the ongoing furore over MPs' expenses, but these continued to command much of the available air time.

10th June: Peter Mandelson commented on BBC1's Andrew Marr show (transcript here) "I personally think that our future, economic future will be more secure in the Euro zone with that currency. But I've always accepted that the economic conditions have to be right." Jonathan Oliver wrote in The Times on 14 June that "His confidence is such that on a trip to Berlin last week, Mandelson effectively rewrote Britain’s policy on the euro, declaring that we were “obviously” heading for entry into the single currency."

UK Euro watch: May 2009

This is our monthly round-up of BBC content touching the possibility of the UK entering EMU and adopting the Euro.

Most activity during May was concerned with candidates and parties setting out their positions in advance of the European Parliament elections on 4th June. These have been well understood for years - no exciting news here.

For example, on 25 May in Belfast, the Conservatives and Ulster Unionists launched a joint manifesto, opposing UK membership of the euro.

Local initiatives continue to be reported. On 03 May, BBC Sussex reported Euro paying off for resort town that Rye has been accepting Euros since 2002.

Apart from that, there was very little reportage or commentary on the possibility or probability of UK adoption. There was much more activity in June - particularly after Lord Mandelson's opinions were reported. But that's coming later.

UK Euro watch: April 2009

This is our monthly round-up of BBC content touching the possibility of the UK entering EMU and adopting the Euro. Little happened during the month at a political level to move this forward.

17 April: Shops to accept euro for two days: the initiative in Bewdley, Worcestershire on the weekend 18-19 April was part of events marking the 20th anniversary of its twinning agreement with German town Vellmar.

22 April: BBC World Service: In its Global Business series, The Edge of Europe (part 2), Peter Day looked at the edges of Europe and asked whether joining the Euro, or in the case of Iceland wanting to, was worth it?

23 April: Radio 1 Newsbeat reported in Seaside town allows euro payments that some businesses in Poole (and Bournemouth) now accept the euro. It mentioned 'Dunster in Somerset became the first UK town to accept euros', which may surprise businesses in Northern Ireland, in particular Newry, which have been doing this ever since the notes and coins were first circulated.

26 April: In The Westminster Hour, At the Heart of Europe examines how Labour's policy on Europe evolved over three terms in government.

28 April: UK keeps EU working week opt-out, maintaining another key policy difference to the Eurozone

UK Euro watch: March 2009

There was little to be found in BBC content in March regarding the possibility of the UK entering EMU and adopting the Euro. Gordon Brown addressed the European Parliament on 24th March, and two speeches in response called on him to show European commitment by joining the single currency. That seems to be the sum total.

These speeches were all outshadowed by Dan Hannan's scathing response. Mark Mardell, Europe Editor, defended himself for failing to comment on the latter.

Stories about other countries:

13 March: Will euro save Eastern Europe? by Konstantin Rozhnov, Business reporter, BBC News

23 March: Could Greece laser the euro? Mark Mardell, referring to the Centre for European Reform blog What if the Euro broke up?

Articles from other publications:
12 March: In EuropeanVoice.com, Hilary Heuler gives a profile of Jacek Rostowski, Poland's finance minister, and his euro ambitions: The euro enthusiast

15 March: The Sunday Times, not famous for its euro-enthusiasm, Cracks in the euro, by Iain Dey and David Smith

31 March: Charles Grant, of the Centre for European Reform (see above), writing in The Times Ten years on, the eurozone must beware of Greeks bearing debts

UK Euro watch: February 2009

After the flurry of Euro comments in December and January, there was less visible activity in the media in February. Still available to watch at the time of writing:

28 Feb: on the BBC Parliament channel, Mark D'Arcy talked to author David Marsh about his book The Euro: The Politics of the New Global Currency. Programme available on BBC iPlayer until 7th March

You can order the book from Amazon here: The Euro: The Politics of the New Global Currency

UK Euro watch - January 2009

The BBC had several stories in the first half of January regarding possible UK entry to European Economic and Monetary Union, and then went strangely quiet on the subject.

The most significant contributions came on 15 Jan in a document containing 31 essays, one from Prof. Willem Buiter, of the LSE, ex Monetary Policy Committee member, reported here by Bloomberg: Buiter Joins Drive to Persuade U.K. to Adopt the Euro Currency.

The full document can be downloaded from the LSE site: 10 Years of the Euro: New Perspectives for Britain

Here are some of those stories from the BBC in January:

01 Jan: Most Britons 'still oppose euro' BBC poll reveals that just 23% would vote 'Yes'

01 Jan: Discussion on Today programme Slovakia joins the euro today, will the UK join any time soon? Ruth Lee, economic adviser to the Arbuthnot Banking Group, and Mark Leonard, executive director of the European Council on Foreign Relations

02 Jan: Should Britain join euro? The public comments on the BBC's poll

03 Jan: Beyond Westminster on Radio 4. Elinor Goodman discovers what membership of the euro might mean for jobs and prices in the UK. The panel included views from all parts of the debating spectrum.

03 Jan: Village offers euro for the pound to attract tourists, a hotel and some other business in Dunster accept euros with one-for-one price conversion

04 Jan: Salmond in call for euro rethink Scottish First Minister claimed there was a strong argument in favour of the euro, particularly as sterling declined.

11 Jan: The Westminster Hour Norman Smith interviews the deputy leader of Labour's MEPs Richard Corbett and the Tory MEP Daniel Hannan.

12 Jan: The next enlargement - Iceland? Mark Mardell's Euroblog - Iceland has eurosceptics just like the UK

15 Jan: Renewed calls for UK to join euro Former EU commissioner Peter Sutherland says everyone else is clammering to join the euro and Britain should follow suit.

Another euro story on the Today programme of 15 Jan: ECB to lower interest rates Neil McKinnon, chief economist at ECU Group, discusses the problems of fitting one interest rate to 16 countries (especially the PIGS countries: Portugal, Italy, Greece, Spain). Will Greece have to leave EMU?

Mark Mardell reported on Greek protests on 29 Jan, and commented about the relevance of these to UK membership: Euro blamed for recession. He also had interesting things to say on the BBC's The Reporters blog site: The euro - safety net or straitjacket? (30 Jan)

UK Euro watch - December 2008

Here are some of the stories regarding possible UK entry to European Economic and Monetary Union from the BBC in December:

01 Dec: Strange times as eurozone woos UK Jose Manuel Barroso, President of the EU Commission, says that the UK is reappraising the euro because of the credit crunch

03 Dec: Mandelson rejects euro talk claim Lord Mandelson denies telling Mr Barroso

04 Dec: Pound hits new low against euro £1 equivalent to EUR 1.148 after the Bank of England cut its official bank rate to 2%

14 Dec: Pound 'buying less than a Euro' Bureau de change offering EUR197.13 for £200

22 Dec: 'Euro tourists' crossing border Northern Ireland shopkeepers enjoying a boom; some offering direct 1.00 EUR = £1 price conversion

and from November:

27 Nov: Are Danes warming to the euro? Prime Minister Rasmussen thinks it's a good idea