Bald Eagle, you've been inviting this riposte with your picture about the rats and the sinking ship above (evil grin): Who are the British respectively the UK in this picture, the rats or the sinking ship?

Now a more serious look into history. Since the thirty years war or even earlier, in that part of Europe which later was to become Germany, there was a patchwork of statelets, Earldoms etc, with only Bavaria and, later, Prussia, playing a more than local role. They all had different currencies and taxes and tolls. On a fifty miles journey you could pass several customs. Germany played no major role in Europe. The French under Napoleon at the beginning of the nineteenth century could easily overrun Germany and without foreign (British and Russian, foremost) help, Germany would have been under French rule for a long time.

In all major economic indices of that time, Germany was way behind a country of comparable size, that is Britain, despite having more inhabitants. During the second half of that century the picture radically changed and Germany overtook Britain in many indices of productivity. In other indices, Britain was still in front, but the increase was higher in Germany. What had happened?

In 1838, most countries of Germany entered what we now call a common market (Zollverein was the word then), with abolishing tolls and customs within Germany and simplifying and fixing the rates between currencies. In 1871, a single currency was introduced in Germany and it was a success story despite the loss of sovereignity for the individual countries. The growing strength of Germany went hand in hand with the economic unification.

Well, I can understand if some of you say in hindsight you'd preferred all in all a week patchwork Germany to a strong unified Germany (was it a French or a British politician who said: 'I love Germany that much that I can't have too many [parts] of them'). But speaking only in terms of strength and not in what has been done with the strength, the economic and financial unification of Germany in that century was a success story.

So will the Euro and sooner or later Britain will join, reluctantly.

Dai, I can't help you with your question.

Wolfgang