In April 2002, in an article for the monthly legal journal Revue du Marché Commun et de l’Union Européenne, Philippe Marchat, French Inspector of Finances and former Head of the French Interministerial Mission ‘Euro’, comments on the entry into circulation, on 1 January 2002, of the euro in 12 of the 15 Member States of the European Union and outlines the economic difficulties encountered by some countries, in particular Germany and Portugal, in complying with the provisions of the Stability and Growth Pact.