Juan Casla This is Me

 Web References

1. 1. The Jakarta Post - The Journal of Indonesia Today

   www.thejakartapost.com/yesterd - [Cached]

   Published on: 8/20/2005   Last Visited: 8/21/2005

   Juan Casla, economic cooperation program manager of the delegation of the European Commission to Indonesia, expected provincial administrations to have a better chance for successful reform, given that today provinces had more autonomy under the decentralization drive.
   
   "Everything that can be done locally has a better chance for success," he told The Jakarta Post, adding that the chance was better for West Java as the administration had initiated a "legal security working group".

2. 2. IBonWEB.com - Lure of the Euro

   articles.ibonweb.com/magarticl - [Cached]

   Published on: 7/22/2002   Last Visited: 3/23/2003

   Looking back at the historical background of the Euro, Juan Casla, a representative of the European Commission in Indonesia, commented that since 1955, Europeans thought the way to avoid further conflict was to integrate goods, service and people so that they could move freely over borders. Significant efforts have been made, such as the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1957 and the creation of the European Union in 1992. At the beginning of 2002, the Euro was officially used as a common currency for 12 European countries: Belgium, Germany, Greece, Spain, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Austria, Portugal and Finland.
   
   Only three countries in Europe have retained their national currency: the United Kingdom, Sweden and Denmark. These countries, according to Casla, have the right to switch to the Euro whenever they want. They have their own reasons, economic or political, to keep their national currency.
   
   There was a transitional period between January 1 and February 28 when the Euro was used along with the national currencies of those 12 countries but since then, the Euro has been the sole currency of those12 countries in Europe and the symbol of unity of the countries of the European Union.
   
   Since its launch, the Euro has made itself the currency for over 300 million people in Europe. It represents a community that comprises 23 percent of the world's GDP.
   ...
   However, Casla said, the Euro is not aimed at competing with the dollar as the world's currency. It is aimed at bringing growth to the Euro area from international trade. It is aimed at improving the economic condition of companies in Euro countries. As a result, stronger confidence in the Euro is only a side effect. Another implication is that non-EU companies will gradually increase the use of the Euro in transactions with the Euro area. The Euro will also have an impact on international financial markets, such as debt management, and it will also influence policy decisions in non-EU countries. Perhaps eventually the Euro will serve as an exchange rate anchor and the Euro as a reserve currency. Central banks around the world are increasing their percentage of reserves in Euros.