Hi, if you are looking for low cost Euro accounts, do not open a UK bank Euro account, they are by far the worst and most expensive. The only problem you may find is that some banks require residency in that country in order to open an account, if not try out www.dkb.de a free online German bank (I am not sure about the residency situation though). You can a free Visa card and EC debit card in to the bargain, also you can use the Visa card for free cash withdrawls worldwide. I am not with them but a colleague of mine is and he says they are ok.

If you are prepared to pay then you could try our the German Sparkassen, (www.sparkassen.de), they are local trustee based banks and offer deposit accounts (free) and current accounts (4€ per month normally). They are also quasi-govt so are pretty solid financially. Although they tend to charge a monthly fee the costs of sending money to the UK was last time I checked 10c, which sure beats the £25 a UK bank once charged me for such things in the other direction. So this could work out much cheaper than a "free" bank account if you find yourself needing to send money to the UK now and again. They are regional banks, and there are a lot of them but two you could try are Sparkasse Koln-Bonn or KSK Koln. As I live in Germany I am not sure about their residency rules, but you could email them to ask.

Another option could be Netbank.

Cheers,
rod