Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-01-16-Speech-3-121"
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"en.20020116.10.3-121"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, almost ten years after the signing of the Treaty of Maastricht, the euro has now found its way into our pockets and, I think, into the hearts of our fellow citizens.
Before of the first of January, the sale of currency kits had already been a success. From the first of January, consumers began using notes on a massive scale. The volumes of withdrawals from ATMs were higher than expected from the first days onwards. The amount of business taking place at bank counters was so great during the first week of January that, in some countries, the volume of withdrawals or exchanges in banks was greater than the volume of operations at ATMs.
Another indicator of the success of the single currency amongst the public has been the rapid progress of payments in euros. These had already reached 20% on 2 January, the first working day. Today – that is to say, only nine days later – nine out of ten payments are being made in euros. The operation has been a success, therefore, given that over 90% of these transactions are taking place in euros after two weeks.
My second comment on the adaptation of automatic cash machines is that this has also been swift and has taken place throughout the euro zone. For the last two years, the Commission and the European Central Bank have asked banks to change their plans and adapt ATMs with almost immediate effect. This course of action has been a success. On average, 80% of ATMs were adapted by the first of January. This figure rose to 90% by 2 January and to 97% by 3 January. By 4 January, almost all ATMs were only issuing euros.
A comment on business: the majority of citizens have sought primarily to get rid of their national currencies and receive change in euros, thereby demonstrating their desire to use only the euro as quickly as possible. By and large, businesses respected their commitment to give change in euros, which enabled the existing stock of the former currencies to be disposed of rapidly.
The acceleration of payments in euros together with the exceptional measures adopted by the majority of businesses meant that queues in shops were not as long as they could have been. Saturday 5 January was the key day for this issue. The test was conclusive and in all participating States, queues were of normal length. This situation did not change on the following Monday, when sales began in many European countries.
Nevertheless, the first week of January was extremely complicated for business. On the one hand, the frontloading of businesses turned out to be inadequate or encountered logistical problems in some Member States. On the other hand, many consumers spent money in order to get rid of high denomination notes from the national currency, which soon created problems with the supply of lower-value notes in a number of the States participating in the operation, a situation that was resolved by one means or another.
With regard to the behaviour of prices, an issue to which the Commission decided to draw the attention of the Member States and all players in the changeover in the months leading up to the first of January, I can tell you that, according to the reports submitted to us by the national authorities responsible, there has been no significant increases in prices as a consequence of the changeover to the euro, with the exception of a few isolated incidents. Furthermore, in some cases there have been downward adjustments, although, it is also fair to say, in other cases and on an individual basis, the opposite may have occurred.
Overall – I repeat – there has been no significant increase in prices and we do not, therefore, expect to see a negative impact on inflation for the month of January.
In conclusion, the balance sheet for these two first weeks is, in the opinion of the Commission, very positive. The greatest exchange operation in history has taken place practically without mishap. It is a huge triumph for the Union and proof of the high quality of our meticulous preparations. The efforts of all key players in the transition to the euro: the eurosystem, national governments, the Commission, private operators and all citizens have borne fruit.
The success of the introduction of the euro is the end of a chapter – as I said before – but not the end of the work. We must now harvest the fruits of this success by increasing and deepening the coordination of our economic policies and by undertaking the structural reforms necessary to increase growth and employment in the Union.
The operations to introduce the euro that have taken place in these first two weeks have gone extraordinarily well. Our most optimistic expectations have been more than satisfied. Europe’s citizens have acted enthusiastically and responsibly, and all the operators involved in the changeover have shown themselves to be dedicated and meticulous.
We must now apply the same energy and ambition that have guided the introduction of the euro to achieving the coordination of economic policies which will enable us to increase growth and employment. In the short term, the framework of stability in the euro zone has enabled us to provide a balanced and timely response to the economic slowdown we are currently experiencing.
The clear improvement in budget revenues has created some leeway, which will help to cushion the impact of the slight increase in budget deficits that have appeared as a result of the global slowdown.
In 2002 we hope to regain a satisfactory level of growth, which will contribute to global economic recovery. The success of the introduction of euro notes and coins will, by eliminating uncertainty, assist this recovery, stimulating consumer and business confidence.
In the medium term, the European Union set itself clear objectives in Lisbon for increasing the potential for growth and for job creation. In order to achieve these objectives, it is important that we maintain the impetus that will enable us to carry out the necessary reforms which will, in turn, bring about an increase in the rates of employment and productivity.
For this year, the Commission proposes three priority areas: first of all employment policies and, in particular, active labour market policies; secondly, economic reforms to increase competitiveness, integration and investment in key industries; and thirdly, investing in knowledge to increase competitiveness and employment. I shall not dwell any longer on these points, which were yesterday the subject of the speech by the President of the Commission.
Greater interdependence of the economies of the Member States, and in particular within the euro zone, calls for closer and more effective coordination of these economic policies.
In this context, I would say that coordination must be strengthened on the basis of a more accurate analysis of the economic situation and the policy mix of the euro zone. There must be greater openness in reaching consensus on appropriate policies and the Member States and the Commission must be given access to information on the principal measures of economic policy that each country will adopt in future so that the peer review system that we have within the Community can function effectively.
Moving ahead means meeting our commitments: those in the Treaty and those in the Stability and Growth Pact. Moving ahead also means facing up to new challenges. This is what we, as the Commission, will be focussing our efforts and our work on and we hope we will be able to count on the cooperation of Parliament that we have always enjoyed, and with which we hope to continue working in the same efficient and consensual way that we have in the past.
The entry into circulation of the euro on 1 January 2002 is the culmination of a project on which we have been working for many years. Our fellow citizens feel that European integration is making very slow progress. Taking the historical view, however, we can see that it is actually moving ahead at great speed. The Member States took ten centuries to achieve monetary unification in their territories and the Community has done the same in little more than 40 years.
To start with, I should like to pay tribute to the men and women who made the success of this project possible. There are many, and mention has been made this morning of some of them. I am not going to repeat their names, which are fresh in everyone’s mind, but the project has – if I may put it this way – not only fathers but also mothers, and I should like to make specific mention of these women by referring to one individual: Christa Randzio-Plath, who embodies the involvement and the commitment to the euro of this Parliament and of her Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs.
It would be unfair, however, if I did not mention two other Members of this Parliament: Karl von Wogau, who, in his capacity as chairman of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs, also played a critical role, and the previous President of the European Commission, Jacques Santer. I should also like to mention my predecessor, Yves-Thibault de Silguy, who played a crucial role in the previous legislature.
We have worked effectively together with Parliament and I hope that we can continue to do so when confronting new challenges in the task ahead of us. This is why I should like to say that the introduction of euro notes and coins is not only the culmination of a project. It is also the beginning of a new era in the history of European integration.
The physical reality of the euro affords us the opportunity to make further progress in the process of integration. I shall refer to this later on and I should like to focus now on more critical aspects of these early days of the changeover.
First of all, I should like to highlight the enthusiasm of Europe’s citizens towards their new currency. This has undoubtedly been a crucial factor in the success of the operation. The citizens of Europe have rapidly integrated the euro into their daily lives."@en1
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