91.   Eleven nations expected to adopt the euro from the start insist they need a special council to agree on policy on such issues as budget deficits and exchange rates.

92.   EU leaders are scheduled to take a decision early next year on which nations can adopt euro.

93.   Even Britain, which, like Sweden and Denmark, is not adopting the euro, concedes the benefits of union have been enormous.

94.   EU membership is a prerequisite for adopting the euro as a national currency.

95.   France wants to soften a German-inspired deal that bans countries from excessive public spending after they adopt the euro.

96.   France wants to soften a German-inspired deal, known as the stability pact, that bans countries from excessive public spending after they adopt the euro.

97.   France and Germany also have diverging views about whether Italy should be in the first wave of countries that adopt the euro.

98.   Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Ireland, Austria, Portugal and Finland are expected to adopt the euro.

99.   Handelsbanken in Haparanda, a city on the border with Finland, which will adopt the euro, plans to celebrate by opening for one hour after midnight.

100.   He also said nations hoping to adopt the euro must have their currency within the fixed exchange-rate bands for at least two years.