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January 1
Customers and shop assistants are getting used to new notes and coins
2002: Celebrations as euro hits the streets
England have
Twelve of the European Union"s 15 countries have woken to life with a new
currency today, as the euro reached the purses of ordinary citizens across the
continent.
In the biggest monetary changeover in history, more than six billion notes
and nearly 40 billion coins have been distributed to shops, banks and cash
machines.
The French President, Jacques Chirac, described the development as a "new
way of being in Europe."
Just three EU countries have refused to part with their currencies:
Britain, Sweden and Denmark.
However, European Commission President Romano Prodi said the arrival of the
single currency inevitably meant "greater convergence of economic rules" within
the eurozone - and any countries outside the zone risked being left out.
Traditional New Year parties became welcome parties for the new common
currency in many European capitals.
A million revellers turned out in the German capital, Berlin, and other
capitals including Paris, Helsinki and Athens staged special celebrations.
The new currency is unlikely to have its full effect on day-to-day
transactions until tomorrow as many businesses are closed for New Year"s
Day.
National currencies will continue to circulate alongside the new euro for
another two months in most member countries.
One notable exception is Germany, where a loophole in the law means the
Deutschmark ceased to exist at midnight.
The euro has been used as an electronic currency for financial trading
since 1999, but this is the first time it has appeared in the purses of the 300
million ordinary citizens of the eurozone.
The development has intensified the fierce debate in Britain, where the
government is committed to a referendum on the issue once certain economic tests
set by Chancellor Gordon Brown are met.
Europe Minister Peter Hain defended the government"s position, saying, "We
want to join but we will only join when it is economically right for Britain to
do so."
But, he added, "The increasingly urgent question for British citizens is
whether we want to get left behind yet again as we have been consistently in
Europe."
The Queen, Prime Minister and others celebrated at the Millennium Dome
2000: World celebrates New Millennium
Artificially 1969:
The Billions of people around the world have welcomed in the New Millennium
with some of the most spectacular celebrations ever seen.
The first people to witness the dawn of the new era were Pacific Islanders
- among the last were the Americans.
And fears that the dreaded Millennium Bug would cause computer meltdown
around the world failed to materialise to the relief of those who have invested
billions in trying to avert a potential crisis.
The unique global experience, which will never again be witnessed by any
person living today, was marked by all denominations and all classes and creeds
of people across the planet.
Here in the UK a huge clean-up is now under way after one of the most
amazing, yet trouble-free, celebrations this country has ever-seen.
Prime Minister Tony Blair, who celebrated with his wife, the Queen, and
thousands of others at the Millennium Dome, said the "confidence and optimism"
for the new Millennium should be bottled and kept forever.
More than two million people lined the banks of the River Thames to watch a
firework spectacular and although the emergency services were stretched to
capacity no major disturbances were reported.
In Edinburgh five tonnes of fireworks were set off in four minutes in the
city"s largest Hogmanay celebrations to date.
Today, thousands of people turned out for a Millennium Day Parade in London
and bells were rung simultaneously in churches and cathedrals around the country
at noon.
Vocabulary:
referendum: a legislative act is referred for final approval to a popular
vote by the electorate(公民投票) |
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发表于 2016-7-9 23:20:01