BERLIN (AP) — Heralded at its champagne-soaked launch in Jan. 1, 1999 as a rival to the almighty dollar, the euro was supposed to help unify Europe's nations into a global economic force — a super-currency that would draw investors from around the world.

Instead, the euro has plunged on currency markets, shedding almost a quarter of its value since debuting. The embarrassing sell-off accelerated this past week, sparking government calls for calm among consumers nervous over the prospect of scrapping their marks, francs and lira for a single currency.

In some ways, the concern is premature: The euro is still just a bookkeeping tool for governments and businesses: it doesn't go into circulation until 2002. And the grand monetary experiment has already helped the economies of the 11 countries involved.

But the early setback clearly is humbling.

Warnings are heard about a ``crisis of confidence'' among those who will have to replace the money in their pockets. Die-hard euro opponents are renewing demands for the monetary union to be called off, while its key architects, like former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, remain conspicuously silent.

``Instead of dynamism for Europe, the euro has brought dynamite,'' said Wilhelm Hankel, one of four economics professors who went all the way to Germany's constitutional court in a futile attempt to stop the euro in 1998, saying a single currency violated German sovereignty.

Intended to reflect Europe's burgeoning strength and unity, the euro's weakness has highlighted disagreements in ``Euroland'' about who to blame and what should be done, if anything, to reverse the slide.

After the euro dipped below 90 cents to the dollar for the first time last week, the German government said it viewed the situation with ``great calmness'' and believed no action was required. But a day later, French Premier Lionel Jospin suggested ``a collective response'' by the European Union, the United States and Japan ``should be considered'' to restore confidence in the euro.

EU finance ministers plan to tackle the euro's problems at their regular monthly meeting on Monday.

Eleven out of 15 EU countries have adopted the euro: Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain. Britain, Denmark and Sweden opted out.

Greece, which initially didn't have its fiscal house in order, got the OK from EU officials this past week to join the pack.

The invitation has to be confirmed by European leaders at their summit in June. But some analysts said the prospect of Greece, notorious for undisciplined finances in the past, coupled with the recent government turmoil in Rome, may have helped push the euro down in recent days.

Others, perplexed by the euro's dive, say economic fundamentals in the zone overall are rosy.

Inflation is still comfortably low at roughly 2 percent. Growth is catching up to the United States, with unemployment sinking for the first time in years. Corporate mergers are picking up pace and taxes are coming down.

``The long-term trends are very, very good,'' said Josef Joffe, co-publisher of Germany's respected Die Zeit newspaper.

Indeed, he added that much of the credit actually goes to the euro, which has created a huge domestic market for European producers similar to that U.S. companies enjoy. The underlying currencies have been fixed to the euro since its launch, insulating the businesses keeping their books in euros from currency swings and creating a broad new market for euro-denominated stocks and bonds.

Yet currency traders are instead looking to the United States, where dollar investors currently enjoy higher interest rates and a rocketing stock market.

The negative impact of the currency's dive is already hitting consumers.

Europeans could end up feeling shortchanged when traveling abroad, since they'll have to pay more for dollars when exchanging currencies. And prices of imports may rise in Europe, since it takes more euros to buy products from abroad.

European Central Bank president Wim Duisenberg took the unusual step Friday of issuing a special statement not to currency traders, but to consumers worried that the weak euro would drive up prices in the stores and eat away at their savings and pensions.

But the lanky Dutch banker doesn't yet command the same respect as those who shepherded the rock-hard Deutsche mark over the past 50 years.

Germany, which accounts for a third of Europe's economic might, under Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder also hasn't been showing the kind of leadership that Kohl did in promoting the euro and explaining its benefits to a skeptical population, said Angelika Volle, executive editor of Internationale Politik, the quarterly journal of the German Council on Foreign Relations.