People could use whichever they preferred and if they really did prefer that ecu or euro then it would triumph.

FORBES: Maggie Thatcher Was Right You Know

The charges follows an investigation carried out by Thames Valley Police's Economic Crime Unit (ECU), after the case was referred to the force by the Financial Services Authority (FSA).

BBC: HBOS business loans: Eight charged

The trouble with the test is that even if the criteria are tough, EC governments will, when the time comes, have some discretion in deciding whose currency is to join the ecu.

ECONOMIST: From the archive

To see how this might happen, pretend the euro was launched on January 1st 1997 with its value set equal to the ecu, a basket of Europe's national currencies, as the real euro will be.

ECONOMIST: Measure for measure in Euroland

This configuration gives it all wheel drive and also allows the ECU to either send power to or retrieve power from (in the form of regeneration) either motor to recharge the on-board battery pack -- which can also be juiced up by plugging into the wall.

ENGADGET