Prodi: Europe will enjoy a strong economy

BRUSSELS, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- A confident Romano Prodi, president of the European Commission, declared Tuesday that Europe will be the strongest economy in the world following the the launch of the euro.

Speaking in the heady atmosphere of his European Commission inspired euro celebrations in Vienna sounded excited and ebullient.

"We have done it at last. We have launched the euro and we are going to be strong. We are going to be the strongest in the world," the Italian Commission President beamed.

It was not clear whether the Commission's Brussels celebratory event- held where a firework display and New Year celebrations traditionally take place had drawn the crowd or merely hi-jacked the occassion.

Throughout europe city authorities had ensured that the launch of the euro was the significant theme of the New Year partying.

Embarrassingly the organisers of the Commission's own celebrations included the British pound in an impressive electronic show depicting national currencies picked out in green disappearing into the night sky.

Britain, with Sweden and Denmark, has not joined the euro experiment, the largest merger of national currencies ever undertaken.

But behind the publicly organised celebrations Belgians were already having practical problems with the euro. Claire Simpson, a British business executive visiting Brussels found the celebrations complete with an orchestra palying the EU anthem 'Ode to Joy' "impressive". But, she said, "I would have been more impressed if when I went to the cashpoint and opted for euros I had not been told on the screen that it was an 'invalid currency'.

With some 200,000 cash machines having had to be adapted at the last minute it was hardly surprising that there would be problems but if the mood of people in Brussels is anything to go by the loss of national currencies is meeting little opposition from the citizens of the euro zone.

But, as the excitement dies down there will be serious concern about the performance of the new currency. Despite Romano Prodi's bold words the European Commission is planning a special media briefing in Brussels Wednesday to offer their appraisal of early market reaction.