Theeuro

Greetings.

I am JR. Please visit The Euro- Information Website for more information on the currency of the European Economic Union.

The single European currency has become a passion for me in both my private and public life. As a liaison between the European Council and the European Central Bank, it is a great honor to have access to some of the best kept secrets in the world- well in Europe, anyway. It is my responibility to forward official news and information to the European Council to be published in the Official Journal of the European Union regarding designs of the Euro. In choosing which designs are to be shared publicly, editing the descriptions and creating high-resolution images of the designs for public release, it is safe to say that I have my finger on the pulse of the Euro.

It is because of my post within the governing bodies of both the ECB and the EC that I have decided to share the information I have access to with the Wikipedia community. I am still a novice at editing pages on Wikipedia, but after the suggestion to do so from my boss, who could argue?!

Since technically, I am able to release any new design information exactly 1 hour after 1 day before the official announcement, the Wikipedia community as a whole can benefit from my unique position. The time frame sounds very confusing and it will surprise you to know that it took 3 months of nearly constant debate to finalize.

Ah, the EU... continent of red-tape!

Of course that is in jest. I love the European Union and what it represents. Despite the problems that have ensued since the introduction of the ECU in 1999, the Euro today is a sign of prosperity. Most importantly, it is a sign of peace. It means that there can not be another war within the continent ever again. The president of the ECB once said that adopting the Euro is like adopting a permenant and lasting peace. The speech that this quote is from hangs framed on a wall in my office. I am very proud of the work I do.

There is a personal website of mine which is funded by a grant from the government of the Netherlands with the intent of educating America on the Euro (the link is above). I take great pride in the development of this website and it has become quite a success in America. Anderson Cooper from the American network CNN has done a story on the website already and it has only been online since the end of February.

If you have any questions, please send me an email.

I can speak Dutch, English, French, Greek, Spanish, Portuguese, Latin and German. I'm working on Polish and some of the Baltic languages, so I hope to hear from you soon in any language!!

--Theeuro 03:08, 5 April 2007 (UTC)