Europe prepares to usher in euro era at midnight

More than 300 million Europeans will take part in the biggest currency changeover in history when euro notes and coins are introduced at midnight. European leaders have hailed tonight's launch as a historic step towards the political integration of Europe.

The launch will be marked by celebrations in Frankfurt, Brussels and Madrid, which assumes the EU presidency at midnight. National governments in the 12 euro zone countries and officials from the European Central Bank (ECB) are confident that the introduction will be successful. But a strike threatened by 40,000 bank and post office workers in France could disrupt the changeover in Europe's second-largest economy.

The president of the ECB, Mr Wim Duisenberg, has acknowledged that moving to the euro will create temporary inconvenience for some citizens. But writing in The Irish Times today, he says the launch of euro notes and coins is a historic event that goes beyond practical considerations.

"It will also influence the way we perceive ourselves within a community, the way we regard our history and the way we relate to our neighbours and our territory. It will deeply affect the way we see ourselves as Europeans, thereby fostering the process of European integration and contributing to the achievement of lasting peace and prosperity throughout Europe," he writes.

The German chancellor, Mr Gerhard Schr÷der, said that the launch of euro notes and coins made tangible the European dream of a system in which conflicts were resolved between bureaucracies rather than through wars.

"We are experiencing the dawn of an age of which people in Europe have dreamt for centuries: freedom to travel without borders and to pay in a common currency - euro and cent," he said.

In an interview with a German newspaper yesterday, Mr Schr÷der said he would give his first euro to the first beggar who approached him in his home city of Hanover.

Mr Duisenberg will not be at the ECB's headquarters in Frankfurt tonight but he will take part in a pre-launch event in the city this morning.

The ECB president will present prizes to "Euro Superstars" from the 12 euro zone countries, winners of a children's competition aimed at promoting familiarity with the notes and coins.

Among the winners are nine-year-old Imelda Hickey from Castledermot, Co Kildare, and 11-year-old Gerard Raftery from Tuam, Co Galway.

The ECB has printed 15 billion bank notes and minted 51 billion coins, to a total value of €646 billion (£508 billion).

Two thirds of them have already been delivered to banks and retailers and police throughout Europe are on high alert to prevent robberies.

The French Finance Minister, Mr Laurent Fabius, sought yesterday to play down fears of disruption to the launch if bank and post office workers go ahead with a strike, which he said would not receive the support of most workers.

"I'm not sure that it will be a success. I think people will show their responsibility and I think the euro will be a success from the beginning," he said.

The 12 currencies being replaced by the euro will remain legal tender until February 28. But they can only be used to make payments and all change must be given in euros.

Britain, Sweden and Denmark are the only EU member-states not to adopt the euro but a British EU Commissioner, Mr Neil Kinnock, predicted yesterday that the euro would become a parallel currency in Britain.

The British prime minister, Mr Tony Blair, said Britain had a "massive interest" in a successful launch of euro notes and coins.