It should first be remembered that the euro already ranks highly on the international currency scale and is on an equal footing with the dollar in several areas. For instance, it has been the leading currency for international bond issues since 2003, as well as being used as the invoicing currency for more than a quarter of world trade. This rise in the euro's importance has meant that, although the dollar still predominates, there are now two genuine major international currencies rather than just the dollar.

Concerning the specific issue of forex reserves, it seems unlikely, however, that the euro will be replacing the dollar as the reference currency any time soon. Firstly, there is considerable inertia in the allocation of reserves, and the recent increase in the euro's share, which reached 25% in the third quarter of 2008 (versus more than 65% for the dollar) is in particular due to the dollar's depreciation.

In addition, these reserves are usually invested in "risk-free", highly liquid assets (sovereign debt from developed countries). Regarding this last point, the euro is hampered by the fragmentation of the sovereign debt market in the EMU, where each country issues its own securities, making them less liquid than securities issued by the US Treasury and therefore less attractive.

Finally, there is currently little likelihood of an accumulation of forex reserves in euros. Unlike the United States, the euro zone has an almost balanced current account and therefore does not need to drain global savings to service its debt. Any rise in the demand for euros would considerably increase the European currency's value, which would further damage our exporters.