It's recently come to my attention that euro bank notes are

probably the only paper currency in the world that don't have
any historical or monarchical figures on them. No doubt this is
because it would be near impossible to find the appropriate
historical figures without offending a good handful of nations
whose forebears didn't quite make it. Indeed, this is the case
right down to the bridges and 'gateways' featured on the notes,
which aren't even real structures, lest they incur the petty
jealousies of member states.

Hence I've taken it upon myself to come up with a solution for

this predicament. In a multi- and supra-national state, it would
be understandably difficult to come up with any criteria for a
historical figure that could justify leaving many nations' heroes
out. However, there is one that to me seems perfectly reasonable
- all the men who have laid the groundwork for the EU by
attempting to force European unity.

True, this hardly includes all member states, but it makes a

damn good tour of the continent. Candidates come from as far as
Italy, Germany, France, Austria, and even Turkey. All these
nations have, at one time or another, had rulers who have
attempted to force Europe together under a common yoke,
whether they liked it or (as was most often the case) not. What
better way, I ask you, to celebrate the heritage of this great
European project than the tyrants and despots who set such a
precedent for it?
 J
ulius Cæsar (100-44 BC)

C
harlemagne (742-814)
 S
uleiman I of the Ottoman Empire (1494-1566)

C
harles V of the Holy Roman Empire (1500-1558)
 L
ouis XIV of France (1638-1715)

N
apoléon I of France (1769-1821)
 A
dolf Hitler (1889-1945)

Needless to say, most of these rulers (the exceptions being Cæsar

and Charlemagne) failed in their ambitions to forcibly unite
Europe. Usually this was a direct result of British intervention. I
do hope the significance of this fact is not lost...