Less than two weeks after its official launch, a top European film executive has described the Euro as "the best thing that ever happened to the European film industry".

Juergen Schau, head of Columbia Pictures' German subsidiary, said the single currency would have a dramatic impact on the European film industry, leading to more cross-border productions that would make Europe more competitive.

In an interview with Reuters, Shau said: ``We can now work with one currency across Europe and don't have to constantly worry about exchange rates; we have one European market where we can all work,'' said Schau.

Other European executives have, like Schau, predicted an increase in pan-European productions as a result of the Euro. In the past, pan-European productions have been hampered by each country dealing in different currencies; and the sudden rate swings of currencies have been described as making pan-European production like gambling, with both the cost of the production and the final profits potentially affected.

``I have great hopes that we will grow together strongly in Europe as far as talent goes,'' Schau said, referring not only to actors, but producers, directors, screenwriters and film crews.

The Euro may also make production more competitive, allowing producers to compare prices of talent and production services more easily between countries.

Some observers believe that European media companies will also be bolstered by the Euro, because the new currency will encourage transnational stock market investments by investors who previously might have been fearful of currency swings.