LONDON, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schauble said the troubled euro was just getting started as the currency of choice in Europe.
Despite nearly two years of highly publicized struggles to prevent the value of the euro from eroding by rescuing eurozone members from their massive government deficits, Schauble said Britain and others would fall in line and join the eurozone in time, The Daily Telegraph reported Saturday.
"This may happen more quickly than some people in the British Isles currently believe," Schauble said.
Schauble went so far as to predict that all 27 members of the European Union would eventually adopt the euro, the currency now used in 17 nations of Europe.
Schauble also said Germany would continue to press for a banking transaction tax, which Britain opposes.
His remarks came a week after former British Defense Secretary Michael Heseltine said he was confident Britain would join the eurozone in the future.
Some members of parliament scoffed at the suggestion that Britain would accept the euro, given the possibility that Italy or Greece may fall into default, which would result in a fast depreciation of the euro.
Heseltine told the Conservative Group of China in London, "We made a great mistake in not joining the euro. It would have been good for Britain.
