The euro's record strength is stoking tension among the 15 countries sharing the currency, with some much more comfortable than others with its ascent on foreign exchange markets.
The euro jumped to a record high on late Tuesday of 1.5047 dollars, an appreciation of 29 percent from its launch in 1999 and an 82 percent gain from its all-time low in October 2000 of 0.8230.
"There is potential for tensions here between Germans, Dutch and on the other hand French and Italians," said Simon Tilford, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform.
France, the eurozone's biggest economy, has been ringing alarm bells about problems that the euro's strength causes for its companies, whose exports have become less competitive on international markets.
The French trade deficit swelled in 2007 to a record 39 billion euros (59 billion dollars) in 2007, driven by high oil prices, the weak competitiveness of French companies and the euro's strength.
European airplane makers, led by EADS and Dassault Aviation, have warned that they may have to move production out of Europe because their costs are in euros but their products are sold in depreciating dollars.
"We can't cope with such a difference by producing in the eurozone," Dassault Aviation chairman Charles Edelstenne said.
"The natural course for things is to move to dollar zones or low cost countries, like what has happened in the car industry."
French secretary of state for European affairs, Jean-Pierre Jouyet, told AFP recently that "everyone" in Europe acknowledged that the euro's appreciation has been "too fast."
France has called on eurozone governments to play a greater role on currency issues in the face of policies by the European Central Bank, which French critics consider to be overly concerned with fighting inflation.
According to its detractors, the ECB's determination to keep a lid on inflation has forced the Frankfurt-based central bank to keep interest rates high, which drives up the value of the euro.
However, Germany, which sports a healthy trade surplus despite the euro's strength, has repeatedly defended the ECB against French criticism.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said that she was "very sceptical" of a French call for a summit of eurozone heads of state in mid 2008 and seizes every opportunity to express her strong attachment to the ECB's independence.
"A looser monetary policy would be anathema to countries such as Germany and the Netherlands that worry about the inflation implications of cheaper money," Tilford said.
"In the eyes of the public and some politicians the euro is blamed for everything," economist Patrick Artus said at French bank Natixis.
"At its launch, it was blamed for inflation ... today it is blamed for slower economic growth. But the real fault does not lie with the euro but the dollar," he said, alluding to current weakness in the US economy.
