European identities and the euro

The EU Council of Ministers criticised on October 8th the fact that Montenegro uses the euro as its currency even though the country is not an EU member state. Martin Woker examines the alternatives: "Should it create its own currency? That would be too expensive. Should it adopt the currency of a neighbouring country, as other smaller European states have done? The Croat kuna, Bosnia's convertible marka, the Albanian lek or even the Serb dinar? Never! The proud Montenegrins would never tolerate their neighbours' money in their pockets. That would be out of the question. The only conceivable solution would be to adopt the currency now circulating in Kosovo. Pristina's cash dispensers have long since translated Kosovo's European integration into reality. They spit out what the entire Balkan region wants: the euro."

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