Latvia joins EU rebels who spell Euro differently

[Harold F. Schiffman]

>>From the Globeandmail.com

You say 'euro,' I say 'eiro' ... Latvia joins small band of
EU rebels who spell name differently

Wednesday, January 4, 2006 Page B8

 Citing national pride, history and linguistics, Latvia's government
yesterday voted to call the single European currency the "eiro," brushing
off appeals from the European Central Bank to stick to the official "euro"
name. "The 'eu' diphthong is alien to the Latvian language. We don't have
such a sound, so we will use 'eiro,' " Education Minister Ina Druviete, a
trained linguist, told a cabinet meeting at which ministers unanimously
opted for the "ei" word over the "eu" one.

"This is not a monetary matter but language policy. We could, if need be,
defend our rights at the European Court of Justice," Ms. Druviete said.
"We have many arguments for calling the currency the eiro." The Finance
Ministry says it has been warned by the European Central Bank and other EU
institutions to call the euro the euro. But bowing to EU demands that the
single currency be called the euro would have been seen as caving in to
Brussels. It may also have set Latvians against the EU, which it joined in
2004, and the euro itself, which it plans to adopt in 2008, the Finance
Ministry said.

Latvia is not the only new EU member state opting to spell the single
currency's name its own way, Ms. Druviete pointed out. Malta announced
last month that it will spell the currency's name with a "w" -- ewro --
while Lithuania and Hungary use their own spelling in daily life and the
'euro' spelling in official texts.

"I praise small, brave Malta, which also staunchly defends its identity in
the EU," she added. Greeks also pronounce the euro "evro", with the
different spelling -- eypo -- figuring on banknotes. Latvia plans to
replace the national currency, the lat, with the eiro -- pronounced more
or less "aero" -- in January, 2008. AFP

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