Controverse over een uniforme spelling van het woord 'euro' duurt voort - Letland, Litouwen, Hongarije, Malta en Slovenië liggen dwars (en)

EU ambassadors gathered on Tuesday (12 October) to discuss the dispute over the spelling of the word euro.

Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Malta and Slovenia have demanded that a rule to uniformly use the word euro across the EU be scrapped as it does not make sense in their respective languages.

According to a compromise deal offered by the Dutch presidency, the word euro would remain unaltered on all translations of EU documents and on banknotes and coins, but in national documents the governments can vary the usage, provided that first three letters remain "eur".

The compromise deal was acceptable for four of the countries. The Latvian officials, however, have asked for extra time to consult with Riga, according to PA.

The issue has to be solved before the signing of the European Constitution, taking place on the 29 October.

At the moment only Greece may spell the word euro differently, as it has its own alphabet.

According to the Telegraph, the ambassadors have until lunchtime today to reach a deal.