April 1998: Dutroux escapes briefly, prompting two ministers to quit July 1998: Police reforms Belgium joins first wave of European single currency Belgian general elections due 2001: Expected trial date for Dutroux.
But these deepening differences within Europe could still pose a long-term threat to the euro, said Paul De Grauwe, a Belgian specialist on the currency.
Still it is an interesting example of the impact made by the single currency that Belgians think anything euro must be about monetary union rather than a football tournament being staged on their doorstep.
As Etienne Davignon, a vastly experienced former Belgian commissioner, puts it, "the single currency is the only thing that can unleash the full potential of the single market".Not only that, but without some way of stopping excessive currency fluctuations ("competitive devaluations" in French parlance), the single market could be put at risk by a revival of protectionist pressures.
On January 1 , 1999 Belgium also became a charter member of the European Monetary Union, paving the way for the introduction of the euro, which became the country's sole currency in 2002, replacing the Belgian franc.
Being based on a very similar international currency system than France, the Belgian franc also fluctuated around a mint-par of 25.22 Fcs/£ (see, e.g. Clare 1895, p. 130; Tate 1908, p. 51).
A Palo Alto-based crypto-currency crowdfunding startup called Swarm from Joel Dietz and Belgian designer Jef Cavens is trying to fund itself through this method.
WEB SITES Belgian tourism: visitbelgium.com Belgian portal: belgium.be Knokke tourism: knokke-heist.info LANGUAGES AND CURRENCY Dutch, German and French; euro (1 euro = $1.30) TAXES AND FEES Taxes are 10 percent of the transaction price.
Franc, originally a French coin but now the monetary unit of a number of countries, notably Switzerland, most French and former Belgian overseas territories, and some African states; at one time it was also the currency of France, Belgium, and Luxembourg.
However, some of the currencies the Euro replaced had widely used high-value notes, including the 10,000 Belgian francs (€247,89), 5,000 Austrian schillings (€363,36), and 1,000 Dutch guilders (€453,78), although these did not exceed the value of the €500 note.
