Never mind difficulties in meeting convergence criteria, the European Central Bank (ECB) has sternly warned Hungary to use the right letters for “euro”. The ECB report on newcomer states’ outlook for joining the euro zone said it was unacceptable that Hungary should spell the word for the common currency by putting an accent on the last letter, as prescribed by Hungarian spelling and phonetic rules.

Along with Latvia, which also uses a spelling different from the standard form, Hungary may be denied membership in the common currency regime unless the Hungarian spelling lobby, which has found supporters among officials in Brussels, is able to get the upper hand. Hungary is not expected to join the euro zone before at least 2010-2011, or after all set financial criteria are met, very much regardless of the spelling dilemma. The ECB does allow Greece to spell the euro in its own alphabet. (english.mti.hu)