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QUALITATIVE STUDY

ON EU CITIZENS AND THE EURO

IN THE MONTHS FOLLOWING ITS INTRODUCTION

SURVEY AMONG THE GENERAL PUBLIC, THE ELDERLYAND PEOPLE IN AN INSECURE SOCIO-ECONOMIC SITUATION

IN THE TWELVE COUNTRIES OF THE EURO ZONE

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

DIRECTORATE-GENERAL FOR HEALTH AND CONSUMER PROTECTION

May 2002

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CONTENTS

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION; AIMS PURSUED; STUDY METHODOLOGY.............................................................3

CHAPTER II: GENERAL ATTITUDES TO THE EURO IN THE 12 COUNTRIES SURVEYED...................................6

II.1. COUNTRIES OF SOUTHERN EUROPE...........................................................................................................8

II.2. IRELAND .............................................................................................................................................................13

II.3. THE COUNTRIES OF NORTHERN EUROPE, OLDER MEMBERS OF THE EUROPEANUNION ..................................................................................................................................................................15

II.4. COUNTRIES THAT HAVE MORE RECENTLY JOINED THE EUROPEAN UNION............................22

CHAPTER III: DISCOVERING THE EURO DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED AND ADJUSTMENTSTRATEGIES...........................................................................................................................................25

III.1. REACTIONS TO THE CHANGEOVER TO THE EURO .............................................................................26

III.2. REACTIONS TO EURO BANKNOTES AND COINS....................................................................................29

III.3. DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED AND ADJUSTMENT STRATEGIES ...................................................32

III.4. PLAYERS THAT HAVE ASSISTED IN THE TRANSITION TO THE EURO...........................................37

CHAPTER IV: EUROPEANS, EURO PRICES AND EURO PAYMENTS ........................................................................38

IV.1. MEMORISING PRICES AND VALUES IN EUROS......................................................................................39

IV.2. REACTIONS TO PRICES OF PRODUCTS OR SERVICES IN EUROS.....................................................43

IV.3. RESULT OF SIMULATED CASH PAYMENT IN EUROS...........................................................................47

CHAPTER V: REMAINING EXPECTATIONS AND NEEDS FOR HELP WITH ACCLIMATISATION ..................49

V.1. SPONTANEOUSLY EXPRESSED EXPECTATIONS AND NEEDS............................................................50

V.2. REACTIONS TO ANY MEASURES THAT COULD BE ENVISAGED ......................................................52

V.3. EXPECTATIONS EXPRESSED WITH REGARD TO THE PUBLIC AUTHORITIES OF THEEUROPEAN UNION ...........................................................................................................................................54

ANNEX: SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC COMPOSITION OF SAMPLES - INTERVIEW GUIDE ......................................55

CHAPTER VI: CONCLUSIONS..............................................................................................................................................57

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CHAPTER I:

INTRODUCTION; AIMS PURSUED;

STUDY METHODOLOGY

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� This report presents the results of a study conducted, at the request of the Directorate-General for Healthand Consumer Protection of the European Commission, by OPTEM and its partners in the group ofqualitative market research companies that hold the “Qualitative Studies” Framework Contract managed bythe Directorate-General for Press and Communication.

OPTEM, the coordinating institute, has been responsible for the design and analysis of the study and for drafting thesummary document on the basis of research carried out in the field by Echanges Marktforschung (Germany), IFM(Austria), Yellow Window (Belgium), Escario y Asociados (Spain), Marketing Radar (Finland), BVA (France),Focus (Greece), MRBI (Ireland), Market Dynamics International (Italy), OPTEM, (Luxembourg), PQR (theNetherlands), and Euroteste (Portugal), respectively.

� This study follows on from three surveys carried out in mid-1999, end 2000 and mid-2001, respectively:

� The first, in all the Member States of the European Union, among the sensitive populations of theelderly and persons in a precarious socio-economic situation

� The second, in the 12 Member States of the Euro Zone, among the same population groups, as well asa “control sample” from a cross-section of the general public

� The third, with a study design identical to that of the second one

� It was carried out under the same conditions as the 2000 and 2001 surveys, and among the same populationcategories, defined more precisely as follows:

� Elderly persons aged 70 to 80 years, of lower and middle social status1, who moreover must havebeen retired for at least 5 years2.

� Persons in serious socio-economic difficulties: those in casual or very poorly-paid jobs, theunemployed, at least partially dependent on State benefits, and those with limited levels of education(at most to secondary level, and in half or more cases examinations not passed). In terms of age,selected persons needed to be aged between 30 and 50 years.

� Average man in the street, serving as a kind of control sample. These belonged to the middle socialstrata of the population3. An attempt was also made to ensure a balanced distribution between couplesthat were married or living together, and single people, and with or without children living at home,the ages of the persons questioned ranging between 30 and 55 years.

Within each social class, moreover, as far as possible equal numbers of men and women were questioned.

In all cases, they had to be citizens of the countries concerned.

� Its principal objectives were:

� To analyse the general attitudes to the euro in the various countries and among the various socialstrata involved, shortly after the introduction of euro notes and coins and the withdrawal of nationalcurrencies.

� To record and evaluate the difficulties encountered by citizens; especially, among those that hadbeen enumerated by interviewees of previous studies, which ones have disappeared or diminished,which ones still remain; and what others have appeared.

� To assess, in particular, to what extent citizens have started to form scales of values in euros.

� To determine what means of education, familiarisation, acclimatisation and assistance have beendeveloped and used, what sources have been drawn on and who has been involved; likewise, which ofthese has proved wanting or inadequate.

� To identify what actions might usefully still be undertaken.

1 Skilled and semi-skilled workers and employees. Excluded were persons who had worked in agricultuere, trade, financial services, accounting, computing

and tax administration, market and opinion surveys, advertising and communication.2 This condition applying to both partners if they had both been active.3 Skilled and semi-skilled workers and middle management, with the same sectors being excluded as with the elderly persons.

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� As in 2000 and 2001, the method used was that of individual in-depth interviews, which permitted a clearappreciation of the reactions of each person in relation to the values of products and services in euros, and to analysethe various mechanisms by which each one attempted to appreciate these values.

The interviews lasted on average 60 minutes.

In each country, the sampling plan called for 7 interviews to be conducted in each of the 3 categories (plus, in thecase of France, 7 interviews of members of the general public in the outlying region of Martinique); some additionalinterviews were carried out.

� The survey was carried out in the field on slightly different dates in the countries concerned, taking into account theconditions laid down by the authorities of each of them for the final withdrawal of the national currencies.

The common rule adopted was that of starting the interviews 1 month after the end of the dual-circulation period1,the interviews being conducted over approximately a 2-week period from that date2.

� The Annex contains:

� The composition of the samples interviewed in each country.

� The interview guide used by the interviewers.

1 Netherlands: 4 March; Ireland: 11 March; France: 18 March; other countries: 28 March2 Except for Martinique: interviews completed within 5 days, stating on 22 April

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CHAPTER II:

GENERAL ATTITUDES TO THE EURO

IN THE 12 COUNTRIES SURVEYED

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As in previous studies, we shall present a quick panorama of attitudes, arranged by sub-groups of countries, based on variousaspects relating to the history of their “qualification” for entry to the Euro Zone, their overall situation within the EuropeanUnion, and to the broad outlines of the attitudes of their citizens to Europe as they emerge from various earlier studies devotedto an analysis of these attitudes:

� The countries of southern Europe, the main beneficiaries of the policy of cohesion and late qualifiersfor entry into the single currency (Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece)

� Ireland, another beneficiary of the policy of cohesion and a country with a very rapid rate of economicgrowth and a traditionally stronger currency, and for a long time linked to the British economy.

� The countries of northern Europe, economically developed and with a strong currency (France,Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, the Netherlands), founder members of the European Union.

� The newest members of the European Union. (Austria, Finland)

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II.1. COUNTRIES OF SOUTHERN EUROPE

� Italy

• The persons interviewed Italy express themselves freely about the euro on several levels, but for themost part the attitudes they display are broadly positive.

� As citizens and consumers who, exposed to the currency changeover, find that they have adjustedmore quickly and easily than they thought they would.

It is worth remembering that even as late as 2001 the changeover to the euro was being viewed bymany in Italy (in particular the elderly and by those in an insecure situation) with serious fears ofinitial difficulties and a general impression of being ill-prepared.

Shortly after the physical changeover to the euro and the disappearance of the Lira, only a few of thefemale interviewees belonging to the sensitive categories of the population were still experiencing realdifficulties in adjusting.

Attitudes to the changeover to the euro sometimes even had almost an unreal, game-likedimension to them: interest and a positive curiosity for a new element in everyday life, and thepersonal satisfaction felt at “being in the thick of it”.

� As consumers interested in the way the euro facilitates travel and moving home within Europe(what people are doing and what they could envisage doing).

This is a dimension that is appreciated by a very large majority, with the sole exception of a fewpersons belonging to the sensitive categories mentioned above: of course, not everyone will want totravel to other countries, but the ability to do so more easily than before is there at least in the mind.

“Being able to travel around Europe without having to change one’s money” (Middle class)

“Understanding prices when one is abroad and being able to compare them with prices in Italy”(Elderly person)

� As citizens of their country, who expect or hope that the euro will have positive effects on theItalian economy.

This is another aspect spontaneously mentioned by the entire sample taken from the general public. Inthe two sensitive categories, it is particularly the men who speak in these terms (in contrast, thisperceptual dimension is absent among older women and those with a low level of education).

This can include ideas about monetary stability or making exports easier, that Italy could have a moreprominent role in Europe or, more vaguely, the hope of an improved economic situation and betteremployment prospects.

“More jobs” (Person in an insecure situation)

� As citizens open to the European idea – a point of view expressed by interviewees belonging to themiddle class and some of those in the sensitive categories of the population.

Included in their views are notions of progress towards European economic union, the logicalextension of the Single Market, and (in the middle class) an assertion of Europe’s significancecompared with the United States.

“The hope is of creating a bloc that would be strong enough to stand up to the United States” (Middleclass)

In addition, apart from considerations of an economic order, and in all the groups surveyed, the eurohas come to be strongly symbolic of European unity in the making and of a strengthening bondbetween its nations.

“In sharing the same single currency I feel more connected with the rest of Europe (Middle class)

“It’s nice to think that the euro is common to millions of people” (Elderly person)

“I feel closer to the other countries” (Person in an insecure situation)

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• Misgivings relate to:

� Maladjustment and the feeling of destabilisation on the part of a small number of people in thesensitive categories (as we have seen)

� A very widely shared impression that the changeover to the euro has been accompanied by pricerises

This is less a question of “rounding up”, which is by and large accepted or tolerated, than a clear caseof substantial and “unjustified” increases affecting a broad range of products and services brought inunder the cover of the changeover to the new currency – and that includes products that can bedescribed as basic necessities.

“Everything has gone up a lot” (Elderly person)

Those belonging to the middle class of the population view the phenomenon philosophically,while others are far more affected by it, some even dramatically so.

� Spain

• As in Italy, the initial reactions of the persons interviewed about the euro often relate to the ease or difficultythey experienced in adjusting to it.

Among the middle category of the population this was seen as having been problem-free and, ifanything, easier than they had expected.

“No problem at all, it’s easy” (Middle class)

Those in an insecure situation proved to be little different, just a little more confused, that is apart froma few particularly poorly educated individuals not much versed in mental arithmetic.

As for the elderly, while tending to describe themselves as the segment of the population that has had thegreatest difficulty in coming to terms with the transition to the new currency, this view of themselves is notnecessarily borne out in comparisons with the other categories. Indeed, some of them have shownthemselves to have coped just as well; others (the physically frail or those with health problems) areclearly less at ease but remain on the whole confident that they will get used to it eventually.

• Adopting the euro is very clearly perceived as a logical step towards Spain’s complete andwholehearted participation in the European Union, a symbol of this belonging, and also a symbol ofchange aimed at gradually catching up with the level of economic development and prosperity of the “otherEuropean countries” (this being understood to refer to the countries situated further to the North).

It is not therefore in any way disputed (even though there is an awareness of a frustration among someSpaniards at the insufficient pace of this catching up process and at the fact that the country is not entirelyrecognised as one of the major countries of Europe, at least in some circles – and that the single currencymight also serve to point up more clearly whatever gap still remains.)

“If we want to be one of Europe’s great countries, we need to raise ourselves to their level” (Middle class)

• The euro is, moreover, seen very much as an outward sign of the progress towards the unification ofEurope, and also its affirmation.

“A change signalling the future” (Middle class)

This aspect is more often spontaneously present in the positions expressed by interviewees belonging to themiddle category of the population.

• The advantages of the euro for oneself as a consumer travelling or likely to be travelling to otherEuropean countries are mentioned by many, especially those in the sensitive categories of the sample, butin a more distant and abstract way than in Italy.

On the other hand, when talking about the internal socio-economic scene, interviewees hardly mentioned anydirect benefits for them – nor indeed any drawbacks.

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• In this context of understanding and of the fairly calm acceptance of the validity of the euro, and of therelatively painless initial adaptation by the majority to it, one negative point does emerge with thefairly general impression of prices having risen concomitantly with, or in consequence of, the currencychangeover.

Among a large part of the population questioned, there is however no outcry against this, more arelativisation and a tendency to explain this phenomenon away with a certain fatalism rather than revolt:prices always go up in January, there has been more rounding-up than usual.

These are just general impressions of what was said, without quoting many concrete examples.

“One gets the feeling that one’s money doesn’t last as long” (Elderly person)

Among the segments of the population surveyed, it is logically enough those in an insecure situation whoare most sensitive to it.

� Portugal

• As in both of the countries previously analysed, the initial reactions of citizens questioned had to do withthe adjustment to the new currency which, in the final analysis, proved to be straightforward enough for avery large number of them.

In earlier surveys, the Portuguese came across as people waiting for the changeover to the euro with a degreeof apprehension (but rarely with any real or strong fears), but at the same time with a curiosity at the idea ofdiscovering new banknotes and new coins, making the euro concrete and “palpable”.

After the introduction, the tension that some had felt seems to have quickly abated, and that is broadly true ofall the population categories.

“It is as if being able to touch the banknotes and the coins and to have them in my hand had a calming effecton me” (Person in an insecure situation)

“It was not, after all, as difficult as they said it would be” (Elderly person)

• The Portuguese have the same very clear perception of the raison d’être of the single currency, highlysymbolic for them of a united Europe to which the majority subscribe without reservations.

It is undoubtedly this aspect that they mention in second place, and perfectly spontaneously, the changeoverto the euro having accentuated it in their eyes, and having made them feel in a more concrete way theproximity of the other European countries. Words like cohesion, union, belonging, proximity, balance,etc. come up often in answers.

“It is an important uniting factor, a factor denoting cohesion. This ties Portugal to the other Europeancountries; I feel closer to them” (Middle class)

“I feel myself to be closer. We are Portuguese, but our currency is everywhere in Europe, it’s the same astheirs. At least as far as the currency is concerned, we are all alike, there are no differences” (Person in aninsecure situation).

• The euro is a means of strengthening Europe economically and politically, both through the greatercohesion that the Portuguese expect from it and through its ability to carry more weight on the world stage,especially in relation to the major competitor, namely the United States.

“This will give Europe a stronger voice in its dealings with the rest of the world” (Middle class)

“A stronger currency capable of taking on the American dollar” (Person in an insecure situation)

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• At the same time, of course, the euro is seen as a symbol and an instrument of the advancesaccomplished by Portugal and of their recognition.

“It’s great to be on an equal footing with the others. Before, they negotiated among themselves and Portugalwas somewhat forgotten. But now, it seems that we are more a part of the whole, it’s as if they were giving usa vote of confidence” (Person in an insecure situation)

At the very most some (like certain Spaniards) also see the single currency as a measurement standard thatmakes it easier to make comparisons, increases the visibility of the differences in development that stillexists, separating them from the economically more advanced Member States.

• Finally, as a consumer-traveller, the euro is also appreciated for the convenience it offers in aidingmobility; but quite apart from the practical aspects, here it is the symbol that matters: those who do notravelling mention it almost as much as the others.

“When I’m able to travel, I know that I’m not going to be conned, because it’ll be the same currencywherever I go” (Person in an insecure situation)

As for the increases in prices, which are mentioned in Portugal as elsewhere, they appear to be of no greatconsequence and very few people are really worried by them: the general perception is that of a virtuallynormal annual increase.

• Overall, the Portuguese appear to be remarkably united in their general attitude to the euro, withbarely perceptible differences between social classes.

� Greece

• Spontaneous comments on the euro by interviewees in Greece relate to:

� The identity of the new currency: the common currency of Europe – an altogether positivenotion, but tempered by a real nostalgia, particularly among the elderly, on seeing thedisappearance of the drachma, “the oldest currency in the world”.

� Adjustment to the euro

Many, essentially in the two sensitive categories of the population, tell of difficulties they hadinitially with the changeover to the euro, and which to some extent they are still experiencing.

These difficulties (which will be analysed in greater detail later in this report) could have been due asmuch to the lack of any scale of values as to the fact of not being accustomed to dealing withsubdivisions of the monetary unit, or to problems with handling the coins.

• The vast majority of persons questioned recognised the advantages of the euro:

� Easier travel and relocation

The ending of currency exchange transactions, with the convenience that this represents and also thesavings on the cost of such transactions, is mentioned quite spontaneously by persons in all socialcategories as a very real advantage – even if few of the interviewees in the sensitive categories werelikely to derive any personal benefit from this.

Some people (in the middle category of the population) add to that the possibility of comparing pricesbetween different European countries.

“No need to convert any more” (Middle class)

It seems that the perceived advantage of the euro for travelling around goes even beyond theframework of journeys that one might make within Europe – the euro having implicitly havingacquired the character of an international reference currency.

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� Monetary stability

This is at the same time a concrete benefit for the citizens of a country that has for a long timesuffered from great instability, as well as being a new situation that opens the way for positivedevelopments, both in Europe as a whole and for Greece: the hope is that the euro will provecapable of competing with the strongest of the world currencies, the dollar in particular, and Europewith the United States; and that, for Greece, this will a factor in progress and economic growth.

� Hope of economic development and improvement in living standards

This hope is expressed with a certain measure of confidence by citizens belonging to the middle class,who formulate the idea that Greece should see its economic level gradually catching up with that ofthe other countries in the Union, and their own wages catching up with those of other Europeans –knowing that the euro will not be the only factor involved in shaping these prospects.

This hope is also shared by the elderly segments of the population, who are thinking less ofthemselves than of succeeding generations.

“We are too old to think that we will see for ourselves how things will change for the better with theeuro, but the younger ones can look forward to a better life” (Elderly person)

It remains a very abstract concept in most of the people who are in an insecure situation, who expectneither positive nor negative effects where they are concerned.

“I have four children and I’m unemployed. I was looking for work before the euro and I’m stilllooking for a job; things were difficult before and things are still difficult now, so for me nothing haschanged” (Person in an insecure situation)

� Upgraded “status” for Greece

We had observed substantially growing support for the euro between 1999 and 2000, as the countrycontinued to fulfil its requirements for “qualifying” – and this trend was confirmed in 2001.

This feeling is still present, but it is losing its strength as the “divine surprise” of entry into the eurozone recedes in time.

There are even some people, in line with attitudes encountered in Spain and Portugal, who note at thesame time that the single currency has simply served to emphasise more starkly the gap that continuesto exist between Greece and the more prosperous countries of Europe (this type of reaction appearingin individuals belonging to the middle class of the population).

“Now that we have the same currency, one can indeed see the difference between our salaries andtheirs” (Middle class)

“I know I’m earning 1200 euros, and that someone doing the same job in France is earning 2400euros – exactly double what I earn!” (Middle class)

• Perception of the euro as European citizens is more diffuse

Rationally, the euro is well perceived, and hailed as a key factor in the unification of Europeancountries and in the constitution of a Europe that is set “to become a single country, like the United States”,and as a powerful symbol of this movement.

Emotionally, however, the feeling of belonging to this Europe is limited, almost by a kind of self-censorship, because of an awareness of the distance separating Greece from the “central” countries ofEurope in terms of economic development.

• As for the negative aspects of the changeover to the euro, they are of two kinds:

� The problems of adjustment, as already mentioned

� The feeling, which is extremely widespread, of prices having risen considerably in recent months

On the one hand, many are convinced that prices have been routinely rounded up, to say the least –without however being able to give examples in support of their certainty.

On the other hand, people have the impression, what with the absence of any scale of values at thepresent stage, that they have less money,and are spending it faster.

“It’s my impression that my money doesn’t go as far as it used to” (Elderly person)

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II.2. IRELAND

• In Ireland, the first idea that comes very much to mind in connection with the euro is that of priceshaving gone up, something to which the elderly and those in an insecure situation have shownthemselves to be particularly sensitive.

Some have condemned specific increases that they have noticed – the increases in pub prices being especiallysymbolic for the male interviewees – while others speak more vaguely of a general impression of pricesincreasing or a feeling that their money “goes faster” but not supported by concrete examples.

“The price of Guinness has gone up. Pubs have taken the opportunity to put up their prices.” (Elderlyperson)

“Things have gone up, you think you’re not paying any more, but you are. I think prices have gone up”(Person in an insecure situation)

The supermarket chains have come in for particular criticism.

As for middle class interviewees, while sharing the same sentiment, which they have been able toexperience, they tend to steer clear of impressions that they attribute to the initial absence of any scaleof values and to rationalise it.

“It’s an impression that I have, but in fact we don’t have less money, it’s just an impression” (Middle class)

This difference in attitudes no doubt reflects the growing dichotomy in Irish society between a centralcategory of the population which has benefited greatly from the strong economic growth in recent years, andthe sensitive categories, who tend to regard themselves as having been excluded from the benefits ofexpansion and who are particularly attentive to any change of prices at all, even if it’s only a few cents.

• This dichotomy is also to be seen in general attitudes to the euro

� They are clearly favourable in the middle class

In this country where the benefits of belonging to the Union are widely recognised and where thespectacular economic advances that have been achieved are in large measure attributed to it, thechangeover to the euro is perceived as a major step in the pursuit of a Community that isworking for everyone’s benefit and in which Ireland’s interests are in no way opposed to thoseof the other countries or of Europe as a whole.

People expect from it an intensification of commercial exchanges, an economically stronger Europeand a Europe better able to meet its global competitors on equal terms.

“I think this will give Europe much greater economic strength. We shall be much better able,economically, to compete with the United States” (Middle class)

When it comes to travelling around the other European countries, the Irish also look upon it asa genuine improvement in terms of being able to move about freely (especially those who have totravel for their work).

As consumers they also see in it the advantage of being able to compare prices in differentEuropean countries, together with the knock-on effects that greater transparency brings –competitive pressure that could lead to a reduction in prices of products that are at present tooexpensive in Ireland.

“It’s going to be great for travelling – just go off with your euros and not have to bother with all thecomplications” (Middle class)

Reservations with regard to the euro are minimal in this population segment.

As in the previous surveys, people do wonder about the non-participation of the United Kingdom, andthe attitudes in this regard are ambivalent: confused apprehension lest it should impact negatively onIreland in view of the importance of the economic and trade relations with that country; on the otherhand there are those who feel the United Kingdom itself could suffer as a result.

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“The only negative point is that the United Kingdom has not come in. I think that’s going to isolatethem. I’m no economist, but I think we are pretty dependent on them; I think they will suffer as aresult in the end if they don’t join” (Middle class)

� Though not negative, those in the two sensitive categories of the population do however havemore reservations

The effect of the stronger economic development is not denied, but remains more abstract.

The same applies when it comes to the easing of travel, which does not directly affect everyone –but it is still a widely recognised potential benefit.

“In fact I don’t travel, so that means nothing to me; but if one is thinking of going to France for aweekend, to be sure you don’t have to go looking for foreign currency wherever you happen to begoing” (Person in an insecure situation)

Expectations as consumers are more concrete as regards the possible effects of increasedcompetition thanks to the euro.

“I hope it’s going to lead to greater transparency of prices in Europe. Cars and that kind of thingshould come down in price” (Person in an insecure situation)

Along with these expectations and cautious hopes, there remains in these segments of thepopulation a certain resistance to, or at least some reticence with regard to the European idealand the prospects of unification, with questions about preservation of the national identity.

“It’s just one stage closer to losing our independence to Europe. In 10 years’ time Ireland will nolonger be what it is, under Europe’s leadership” (Person in an insecure situation)

However, rarely does one encounter rooted opposition.

• All in all, the introduction of the euro seems in some degree to play a role in giving the Irish a sense ofgreater proximity to Europe and the other Europeans.

• Finally, returning to the question of the initial adjustment to the euro, in contrast to other countriesthis is not the subject that seems to concern interviewees above all else.

When they do mention it, it is to say that the changeover to the new currency went far more smoothlythat they would have thought possible and that their fears (which were particularly acute in this country inour earlier surveys, even if they had started to diminish in 2001) had been unfounded.

That is not to say that a significant number of them had already constructed a scale of values for themselves,but at least the ease with which they became “physically” accustomed to the new currency was a trulypleasant surprise to them.

“My only worry was that it would take me a long time to get used to it and that it would always prove aneffort for me” (Middle class)

This is a reality recognised in all the segments of the population surveyed, where a great deal of stress islaid on the effort that had been made to inform people both before and during the introduction of the euro,and the willingness of traders to come to the assistance of people who were experiencing initial difficulties.

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II.3. THE COUNTRIES OF NORTHERN EUROPE, OLDER MEMBERS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION

� France

• The spontaneous reactions of persons interviewed about the euro were split along two lines:

� Adjustment to the new currency

In all the segments of the population surveyed a very frequent admission was noted that,physically, getting used to the changeover to the euro was very easy, but at the same timecontrasting assertions as regards constructing a scale of values.

“In the end I got into it very easily, I would even go so far as to say it was fun” (Middle class)

“It wasn’t so bad; it could have been much worse!” (Elderly person)

“I have not quite got my head around it” (Middle class)

The impression of spending more, of managing one’s budget “blind” is widespread, and not justamong the a priori most insecure categories.

Among the elderly, for example, a determination to adapt is observed.

“I said to myself: instead of paying in francs, I’ll be paying in euros, and that’s that! And, come whatmay, I still have to pay” (Elderly person)

� Powerful symbol of European unity

In the earlier surveys the French showed their understanding of the overall design that inspired thecreation of the single currency: to contribute to the unification of a Europe capable of competing withthe United States and the dollar, but the euro itself still remained an abstract concept.

Having it actually in ones hands is a tangible sign of this unification, gives reality to the removal offrontiers, and is at the same time a symbol of liberty in the European area.

“In a few years’ time it’s going to become a superpower, and this could perhaps be a good thing forus all” (Middle class)

“I’m dying to go travelling in Europe just to see what it is like not having to change money” (Elderlyperson)

This strength of the euro as a symbol is felt by all the population segments surveyed

There is at the same time, among elderly persons in particular, a certain nostalgia for the franc– although it is not felt very deeply by all persons in this category.

“That France may be no more, that’s my fear. But apart from that, they talked so much about it inadvance – that scared us a little perhaps, especially the little old grannies – but me, I said to myself:so be it, we’ll go along with it and do like everyone else” (Elderly person)

• Secondly, the euro brings new hopes, both for the country and for ourselves as citizen-consumers.

� Travelling made so much easier:

“You can go to all the countries where they use the euro” (Elderly person)

� The spin-offs of expected macroeconomic growth and how this will affect people and jobs:

“More dynamic trade between countries, and with it an improved buying power” (Middle class)

“It should bring us more work, more trade. Young people will be able to travel and go off elsewhereto work” (Elderly person)

� Expected benefits of the euro for consumers:

“One might look forward to foreign banks coming and setting up in France: this could perhaps leadto (low) interest (rates), more advantages, more things… the same could apply to insurance,telephones, etc.” (Middle class)

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• Negative point mentioned in the initial stages of discussions, namely the price rises to which thechangeover to the euro might lead.

This is something that is referred to especially by people belonging to the insecure categories, but also in themiddle class of the population (less so among the elderly)

This, however, is less a case of being afraid of long-term inflationary pressure that a feeling thatcertain prices are being pushed up under the pretext of the changeover to the euro.

As elsewhere, interviewees were divided between those who had specific products in mind and others whosimply had a confused impression.

“Everything has gone up, even in Barbès at the fruit and vegetable market. And as for Carrefour and Auchan[hypermarket chains], it’s not worth bothering to talk about it. I noted down the prices before schoolsreopened; they started putting prices up in September and now they’re a third or so higher” (Middle class)

“One gets the impression that one is spending more or that everything is dearer, and it’s not a pleasantimpression” (Middle class)

� In the outlying region of Martinique

• The attitudes of interviewees in this region were fundamentally no different from those of the citizensof metropolitan France

� People seem to have adjusted to using the new currency without any major difficulty – including,according to those interviewed (adults in the active age groups), “the big people” – that is to say theelderly people in respect of whom younger people had frequently expressed fears in earlier studies.

“The problem of adjustment, that’s a question I was wondering about… It hasn’t been a problem forme”

� General attitudes to the euro have been broadly positive

The idea of reinforcing the unification of Europe is an idea almost as much present here as it is inMetropolitan France, in spite of the distance.

And in many instances positive expectations emerge as regards the increasing tempo of economicdevelopment that the single currency could bring about, together with its spin-offs for the citizens ofMartinique.

An element of additional simplification has even been introduced for those living directly or indirectlyoff tourism in this island, which constitutes a vital part of the economy: making things simpler for theforeign tourists (European) who come to visit (who no longer need to exchange their currency), andcoincidentally for those who do business with them.

“For the Germans, Italians and the Dutch that one sees here, who don’t always have the right moneywith them and who have to keep going off to a cash dispenser to get some, this avoids all the toing andfroing and saves time for everyone”

� The impression of higher prices seems to be less widespread than in Metropolitan France

� Belgium

• The Belgians questioned seem to have received the euro with generally a more moderate welcome thantheir French counterparts and with less emotional involvement – at least as far as persons of themiddle class and the elderly are concerned.

� Initial adjustment proved straightforward – but it is true to say that they expected fewer difficultieseven before the arrival of the new currency – even though any scales of values in euro were still verysketchy

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� The euro as a symbol of European unification seems not to have been so strong, or perhapssimply spread more evenly among the population.

Apart from a few real enthusiasts and some people nostalgic for the national currency, manypragmatically accept the euro as a change that should have beneficial effects for the country as well asfor Europe, without however opening up any radically new prospects.

“I viewed the coming of the euro with very great feelings of eagerness and enthusiasm” (Middleclass)

“It’s good to have one and the same currency, it’s an advantage” (Elderly person)

“It’s one further step towards European unity, but there will need to be many more” (Elderly person)

“It’s here, that’s all there is to it” (Middle class)

“One feels a foreigner in one’s own country” (Middle class)

� Belgians are more aware of the concrete benefits that the euro can bring them° As individuals who travel more than any other outside their own borders

This is an advantage cited by all interviewees belonging to the middle class and by mostelderly people.“We all have the same currency, so there’s no need to change” (Middle class)

° As consumers, when travelling about or even in their daily life“It’s easier to compare prices” (Middle class)

° For some also, in their work: commercial exchanges, purchases from abroad, invoicing, etc.all these make life easier for their businesses.

� The perceived disadvantages of the euro (apart from the necessary adjustment which is not yetcomplete and some complications experienced when using the currency) are few.

The increase in the prices of products and services is of course mentioned, or the vague feeling“of getting less for one’s money”, but this is not a strong or dominant impression among themajority.

“As the one who does the weekly family shopping I have the distinct impression that I’m spendingmore than I used to. I don’t see it so much in the cost of each individual item, but in what I spend onmy weekly shopping, when I analyse my expenditure on returning home” (Middle class)

• People in an insecure situation show themselves to be more neutral and more worried, andoccasionally more negative

One does of course find one or two people who claim to “feel more European” and to see in the euro a meansfor Europe to advance towards unity, but most seem to be focused more on their own destiny, sometimeswith a kind of resignation.

“One just has to put up with it” (Person in an insecure situation)

� Among the acknowledged advantages of the euro, or hopes to which it gives rise, one finds:° Easier travel abroad – even if by no means everyone is directly concerned° The hope of benefits to the consumer resulting from more transparent competition

“It’s helpful to be able to see the differences in prices between countries” (Person in aninsecure situation)

These advantages do however remain more abstract than for interviewees in the othercategories

� The disadvantages associated with the euro are mainly of two kinds:° The complication caused by the change in currency, manifestly much more disturbing and

destabilising than for the other Belgian interviewees“It’s terrible and its pointless” (Person in an insecure situation)

° The widespread impression of rising prices and loss of purchasing power“Most things have gone up in price, though the impression (when you look at the labels) is thatthey’ve gone down” (Person in an insecure situation)“You get the impression that you're spending more” (Person in an insecure situation)

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“All prices are going to be rounded up and the cost of living is going to rise” (Person in aninsecure situation)

� Luxembourg

• The attitudes of Luxembourgers seem to be very divided, but a good many of them are genuinelytroubled

� Initial reactions reveal a frequent impression of increased prices and reduced purchasing power– in a general (world) context of uncertainty that is felt particularly acutely in a country wherestability is a traditional value.

This impression exists in all three population categories surveyed.

“Life has become more difficult” (Middle class)

“There are hidden price increases” (Middle class)

The result is that some people belonging to the middle class and the elderly stand aloof from the euro– though without their feeling threatened in their everyday existence.

“Why the euro? The Luxembourg franc was better” (Elderly person)

Among those in an insecure situation, this phenomenon is more sharply accentuated, with 1 in 2interviewees expressing fear for the future and that their incomes may be insufficient to cover theirdaily needs.

“I, personally, am getting poorer… and the rich are getting richer” (Person in an insecure situation”

One interviewee even declared that she had lost her job because of the euro.

This fairly widespread pessimism revives fears relating to the stability of the euro and its positionagainst the dollar – fears that were present in our earlier surveys, but which had substantially subsidedbetween 2000 and 2001.

“I hope that the euro will hold its value” (Elderly person)

� Some interviewees spoke out in a more positive and optimistic vein, recognising in the eurosomething that could constitute a trump card for the future of Europe, and of Luxembourgwithin it.

But such voices account for a minority in all three groups, and this positive vision manifests itselfmore often as declared hopes rather than as a feeling of benefits already gained.

“The euro has stabilised and strengthened our economy” (Middle class)

“In 2 or 3 years it is going to bear fruit and create jobs” (Person in an insecure situation)

“We’re going to have a stronger currency in the future” (Person in an insecure situation)

• Few speak out spontaneously from the outset in terms of the concrete benefits for consumers – althoughthis was a point widely mentioned in earlier surveys.

This expectation has not gone away, but it has to some extent been pushed into the background in thegeneral gloom: often it emerges only at a slightly later stage of the interviews.

“No need any more to convert money when travelling or shopping abroad” (Elderly person)

“The luxury of being able to travel around Europe without having to change money” (Person in an insecuresituation)

“The chance to compare prices in the various countries” (Middle class)

• Spontaneous giving voice to reactions as citizens of Europe is rather rare

In reality, in all three groups roughly 1 in 2 interviewees recognises that the euro could help to bring theircountry closer to the other European countries, and could contribute to a greater feeling of “European-ness”.

“Europe will be more united” (Person in an insecure situation)

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On the other hand, alongside the declared attitudes of aloofness or indifference, there are misgivings overidentity.

“It was forced on us” (Elderly person)

“It’s going to increase foreign influence” (Middle class)

• While the physical adjustment to the new currency seems on the whole to have been free of any majordifficulties (and problems of adjustment are rarely mentioned spontaneously), it is clear that manyLuxembourgers are currently going through a painful period of disorientation, having lost their scaleof values and references.

� Germany

• The initial reaction of the Germans with regard to the euro was strongly marked by the fact that it wasreproached with having made everything dearer – a recurrent theme in all three population groupssurveyed, and which is encapsulated in the expression “Euro ist Teuro” [Euro means dearer]

“Every trader, every firm has grabbed the opportunity to put up their prices” (Middle class)

“Let’s call a spade a spade: the euro is crap, the DM was worth more” (Middle class)

“What is terrible is the way the cost of living has gone up, I feel I’ve got less money in my purse, or to bemore precise I’m spending it faster” (Elderly person)

“They told us the euro would bring down prices, but instead we’re paying twice as much” (Person in aninsecure situation”

“Everything’s dearer, this euro business is making me so mad” (Person in an insecure situation)

This bad image also leads people to talk of their fears of inflation, doubts about the stability of the currency,extending even to apocalyptic visions of mass bankruptcies under the effect of decreased purchasing powerand reduced consumption.

“The euro isn’t stable, things simply can’t go on as they are, with these price increases all buying power isgone, and with all the jobless… Whichever way you look at it, the outlook is bleak” (Elderly person)

• However, for the most part attitudes are in the majority ambivalent, with the negative attitudes citedabove but also some positive aspects.

� The advantage of having the same currency for travel and for holidays abroad (no more need tochange money, but also an end to the mental gymnastics of trying to work out the equivalent of a pricein the national currency).

Very many interviewees mentioned this, including those in great socio-economic difficulties whotravelled about very little or not at all but who were projecting themselves into a situation where theymight be able to do so.

� The contribution of the euro to the construction and affirmation of Europe and the symbolicvalue that it represents.

While this kind of perception appears to be particularly widespread among elderly persons (no doubtbecause they have been through wars and are therefore especially receptive to anything that mightbring Europeans closer together), it is to be found in all three categories of the population.

It appears moreover to be very closely linked to the more material benefit of easier travel, the twobeing combined in the positive notion of exchange.

“Those who pay in euros have the feeling of belonging to the same community. This is a factor forpeace. Many people regret the passing of the DM, but as for me, I’ve been through the war, Francewas the traditional enemy, and the more things we have in common, the less we will want to go towar” (Elderly person)

“It’s positive to think that France, Holland, Belgium, Italy and Spain have the same currency as us.That should favour economic convergence” (Elderly person)

“Having a common currency makes us stronger” (Person in an insecure situation)

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“That should enable us to carry more weight in our dealings with the United States” (Elderly person)

“Europe is slowly building itself, and the euro is contributing to that” (Person in an insecuresituation)

“It’s more convenient to be able to go travelling without having to change currencies, and it isundeniable that this is helping to forge a sense of belonging” (Middle class)

“A single currency helps us feel that we’re in it together. I think people will appreciate this betterafter the summer holidays” (Middle class)

• No mention was made of any real difficulty with handling the currency

The problems encountered in getting used to the euro do not relate to this aspect, but rather – as we shall seein more precise terms later – to the difficulty in directly estimating the value of things without doing a mentalconversion, or to mistakes in making such estimates, which lead people to spend more than they wished.

� The Netherlands

• The initial reactions of the Dutch show that they remain firmly rooted in an emotional mass rejectionof the euro, and this applies to all categories of the population.

� To them the euro remains “foreign”

The feeling continues to prevail that the changeover to the euro was imposed on them, without themhaving any say in the matter, and that it was decided not by the citizens themselves but by others (thepoliticians, the wealthy, big business, the banks, etc.)

“I’d vote against it if I were asked. I see no advantage in it for me” (Elderly person)

“The florin was my currency, not the euro” (Elderly person)

“A crap currency” (Middle class)

� They continue to look upon it as a currency depreciated from birth, as weighed down by theparticipation in the euro zone of the countries of Southern Europe, which are traditionally regarded asweak and not to be taken seriously.

“The florin was a strong currency, but now we have let in some weak countries” (Elderly person)

It is worth noting, however, that the fears expressed in earlier years as to the weakness of the euro inrelation to the dollar have not resurfaced – and neither have the criticisms relating to the non-participation of the United Kingdom.

� They see no advantages for the country (even though the fears of seeing the Dutch economysuffering greatly from it, which were expressed in the comments made by interviewees in previoussurveys, are not expressed quite in the same way here)

“They say there are advantages for the euro and therefore for the Netherlands too, but I don’t knowwhat they are” (Person in an insecure situation)

� They see in it no benefits for themselves, or affect not to see any

“I know that there are no advantages for me, perhaps there are for the large companies, but not foryour average citizen. As far as I’m concerned, I see only drawbacks, apart from the once or twice ayear when I go on holiday, but even there all you need do is draw some money out of the cashdispenser, no exchange involved… What is more, now, if you draw out euros abroad, the banks take apercentage to make up for the commission on exchange transactions they’ve lost. I call that theft. Thatwould have been the only advantage, and they have taken that away too” (Middle class)

“It makes things easier when you’re abroad, but that doesn’t concern me” (Person in an insecuresituation)

� These reactions again reflect the Eurosceptic character of the Dutch – many of whom affirmtheir refusal to look upon themselves as Europeans – and their general distrust as regards thebuilding of the European Community.

“I don’t feel more European, I don’t see why I should” (Elderly person)

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� At best, the open aggressiveness is replaced by a passivity where some of the arguments in favourof the euro may be given their intellectual due, but always without any personal empathy with thesingle currency.

“That’s how it is” (Person in an insecure situation)

“This may in time lead to common laws and a unitary taxation system, but I hope it doesn’t go anyfurther, there are too many differences in mentality and culture within Europe” (Middle class)

• This rejectionist tendency is intensified by a general impression of the disadvantages attending theconcrete arrival of the euro

� Increased prices and reduced buying power

This impression is very widespread: namely, that prices have by and large been rounded upwards –without any action by the public authorities, on whom citizens were relying before the introduction ofthe euro to monitor it and prevent it from happening; and also that the costs of the changeover to theeuro have been reflected by companies in their prices.

“There’s no doubt that prices have gone up, and very significantly at that, people have takenadvantage of it. According to what one hears listening to the news, they have no right to do so, but it’shappening everywhere, and nobody’s doing anything about it” (Middle class)

“Prices are going up all the time, and there are those who see it as an opprtunity to make money”(Middle class)

“Prices have been rounded up just about everywhere, they tell you that someone’s got to pay the costsand you’ve got to accept it, and that’s it” (Person in an insecure situation)

The impression of lost purchasing power affects in particular the sensitive categories of thepopulation, but it colours everyone’s perceptions.

� Loss of a scale of values

The difficulty in getting an idea of prices in euros, as well as the mistakes (voluntary or involuntary)that can occur, is mentioned by many, and leads to people under- rather than overestimating prices.

Specifically, the frequent practice of doing an approximate conversion using a factor of 2 (instead of2.20) is contributing to this.

“It’s disastrous, I spend my whole life calculating” (Person in an insecure situation)

“At first sight things look cheaper, but in fact they are more expensive” (Elderly person)

People in the greatest economic difficulties are particularly affected by this loss of a scale of values.

� Complication

This comes about as much as anything else due to the fact that there are now a number of coins thatthe Dutch are not used to, in particular the small 1 cent and 2 cent coins, against which they are up inarms, especially as they think that they have been introduced “for the poor countries whose currencyis not worth anything”, not to mention the difficulty some people have in distinguishing between thecoins (elderly persons and those in an insecure situation), etc.

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II.4. COUNTRIES THAT HAVE MORE RECENTLY JOINED THE EUROPEAN UNION

� Austria

• Interviewees from the middle class confirm the favourable inclination to the euro that was alreadydetectable in the 2001 survey.

� There is scarcely any opposition in principle, nor any real nostalgia for the old national currency.

� This segment of the population has shown itself on the whole pro-European and looks upon theeuro as a building block in the construction of Europe, one that should contribute to the strengtheningof the Community and help bring the countries of Europe closer together.

“The euro is going to be a stable currency, it will gain in value against the dollar and strengthen theeconomic power of Europe” (Middle class)

“This is going to bring us closer together” (Middle class)

“It’s a logical development for Europe” (Middle class)

On a slightly sour note, however, questions were raised as to the real future strength of the euro, aswell as expressing concern about the possible loss of national identity.

� They clearly perceive the concrete benefits to themselves of the euro: travelling to the otherEuropean countries, and when there, comparing prices more easily when making purchases.

� The initial acclimatisation to the new currency passed off without any major difficulties.

There remains however of the problem of getting values in euros “into one’s head” (convertinginto the old currency is still the intermediate step most frequently practiced).

� The only negative point of note, the feeling that prices have risen, persists but is relativelymoderate – certainly not on the scale of the perceived massive increases people talked about inGermany or the Netherlands.

The absence as yet of any scale of values could help strengthen the impression of spending more.

• The principal reactions among the elderly were as follows:

� The first thing they mention is the question of getting used to the euro.

Some were still experiencing difficulties – especially in converting and estimating values of things ineuros, sometimes also with handling the coins – but on the whole they exhibited neither panic norrejection.

� Their basic attitudes to the single currency – which had previously been recorded as favourableoverall – are now confirmed as such.

They reflect an openness on their part to the idea of European unification (despite, in a minorityof those questioned, a residual fear of seeing specific national characteristics being gradually lost)

“There’s no doubt that a single currency for Europe is a good thing” (Elderly person)

Considerations of a purely economic order on the contribution of the euro to the strengthening ofEurope on this point are less in evidence, but they are often implied. Concerns were noted amongsome of these interviewees, however, as regards the future strength of the euro against the dollar.

� The concrete advantages of the euro when travelling or making purchases abroad arerecognised – even if these people travel about less than the younger ones.

� The effect of the rise in prices following the changeover to the euro is mentioned by this segmenttoo – however, scarcely more so than by the interviewees from the middle class.

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• As regards persons in an insecure situation:

� These persons, who before the introduction of the euro were voicing concerns in greater numbers andof a more profound nature, are more divided now as to the ease or difficulty of getting used to theeuro.

Roughly one in two of them has not experienced any difficulty greater than did the interviewees in theother categories of the population; but the others clearly had greater difficulties: real problems incalculating prices, in converting, and occasionally problems with handling the new currency too (thecoins).

“Converting is really difficult” (Person in an insecure situation)

� More people in this category had observed or feared price increases.

While there is no panic phenomenon, this fear is more or less felt by all.

� The concrete benefits of the euro (when travelling) are not missing from their comments, butundoubtedly they concern them less directly or less strongly.

� In the final analysis, in expressing a fairly general pro-European sentiment, these people woulddescribe themselves above all, when speaking about the euro, as European citizens, or at least ascitizens of Austria within Europe.

The euro should contribute to the strengthening of the European economy.

“I hope the euro is going to unify Europe more strongly in order to counterbalance the financialinterests of the United States” (Person in an insecure situation)

Implicitly or explicitly, any such development would have positive spin-offs for their country.

The most emotionally charged idea as regards bringing the countries and the people of Europetogether is also very much in the forefront.

“I’m hoping that the euro is going to reinforce the feeling of having a new common European identityand that the barriers between States of the European Union are going to disappear” (Person in aninsecure situation)

� Finland

• Initial reactions as regards the general theme of the euro appear on the whole to be much the sameregardless of which group the interviewees belonged to in this country.

� The Finns confirm their generally very favourable attitude to Europe as a whole, looking uponthe euro as a welcome factor for the development of European unity and European strength.

“This is going to unite the countries of Europe” (Middle class)

“At least there will be nothing negative about it. Everyone is holding hands together and walkingforward into the future” (Person in an insecure situation)

“The European Union is in future going to be a powerful competitor for the United States and Japan”(Elderly person)

The few nostalgic comments made in 2000 in response to the idea of the disappearance of the mark,symbol of the national identity, are still expressed by some people, but they do not constitute arejection of the euro.

“It’s our currency now. At the start I was a bit sad to see our national currency disappear, but nowI’ve got used to it” (Middle class)

� They continue to see in the euro, in a particularly distinct manner, a factor that facilitatestravel, and more generally as one that creates openings.

“It makes life easier, and one can compare prices more easily” (Middle class)

The euro also makes things simpler for business; its introduction should do more to help developtourism (of Finns abroad and of foreigners in Finland), etc.

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� The physical transition to the euro passed off without any major difficulties.

On this level people belonging to the middle class mention hardly any concrete problems; and theelderly point out that, having lived through previous currency changes, they were not disconcerted.

“It’s not the first time, and it’s not very different this time around” (Elderly person)

Among persons in an insecure situation, several (not all) tell of having more problems withgetting used to the changeover – but without anxiety and with, if anything, a reduction in the fearsthat came to the surface in the earlier survey in 2001.

“I’m a little afraid, I’m having trouble finding my way around, I don’t think in euros, I converteverything into marks in my head; I can’t tell how much I have in my purse” (Person in an insecuresituation)

“In the beginning I was a little confused when the national currency, the mark, disappeared, but Isoon got used to the euro and now I’m happy because it’s going to be much easier travelling” (Personin an insecure situation)

� Worries about rising prices are moderate.

These were not much mentioned at first and, apart from some fairly rare cases, they appear to relate tospecific price increases rather than being a more widespread phenomenon.

• On the whole, therefore, the initial transition to the euro passed off very well in Finland.

However, here as elsewhere, scales of values have only partially begun to settle in the mind.

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CHAPTER III:

DISCOVERING THE EURO

DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED

AND ADJUSTMENT STRATEGIES

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III.1. REACTIONS TO THE CHANGEOVER TO THE EURO

• The attitude of citizens to the changeover to the euro was marked by three characteristics:

� Calm

Despite apprehensions among some of its citizens, the psychological climate in all the countries of theeuro zone was characterised, overall, by a sense of calm.

It is admittedly a fact that, especially in certain countries (Italy, Spain, Greece, Ireland and Belgium),some elderly persons and some who are in an insecure situation did in their comments express someparticular concerns, but even among those in the sensitive categories this was only the case for someof them who were rendered particularly frail by poor health (slowness of reasoning, sight problems) orhampered through being educationally extremely backward (semi-literacy). For the most part, theinterviewees in these categories experienced no particular anguish during the changeover to the euro.

� Sensible prudence

This was the watchword for the minority of the very frail persons referred to in the previous paragraphwho, on the one hand, did not fall upon the euro the moment the first banknotes and coins appearedand who, on the other hand, did now and again seek out a relative or friend to help them understandhow to use the euro.

In a more general sense, citizens of every category recognised that they were entering into somethingnew with the euro and were particularly careful to examine the new banknotes and coins, takingspecial care with their first payments, conscientiously checking the first time they were given change,etc.

� A feeling of curiosity and excitement

This feeling was particularly apparent among the citizens of certain countries where the changeover tothe euro was greeted as an event – celebrated almost, like the dawn of a new era – or at least as ahighly symbolic moment.

This was especially true of many Italians, Portuguese and French, as well as among a substantialnumber of Spaniards, in other words in countries where the principle of the euro has never beenseriously challenged, but also in Germany, where the people have lived through the changeover withan intensity that combined the emotion of leaving behind the Deutsche Mark and a positive curiosityfor discovering the new currency.

“As long as the euro was not something tangible it did not seem like anything real” (Middle class,Italy)

“An event that would have been impossible to imagine just a few years ago” (Elderly person, Italy)

“I was curious to see what they looked like, how people were going to cope with it all, what it wasworth, all these things” (Person in an insecure situation, Portugal)

“It was euro hysteria here on the 1st of January; very late in the night people were running to the cashdispensers to have the first new banknotes that no one had seen before; it was hilarious” (Middleclass, France)

“The feeling of having the last DM and of having to get used to a new currency, that was a strangefeeling” (Person in an insecure situation, Germany)

This feeling can also be observed among citizens of other countries, but it was not as widespread.

Even in the Netherlands – the only Member State of the twelve where revulsion at the changeover tothe euro remains deeply rooted – an element of curiosity was nevertheless detectable, though withoutthe elation with which the euro was greeted in the more enthusiastic countries.

• Among the great majority of citizens the switch to using the euro was accomplished very rapidly

This seems to have been fairly generally the case in most of the Member States, and not just in theparticularly euro-enthusiastic countries but also in those where the emotional response to the euro was moremuted, and even in the Netherlands in spite of strong existing reservations; only a very small minority of veryvulnerable individuals manifested instead a wait-and-see and reactionary attitude.

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Many of the people questioned said that they had essentially switched to the euro within one or two weeks,rarely more – in the sense that they had started right away to make their payments in the new currency andsought to get rid of their national coins and banknotes as quickly as possible.

Although it also involved the majority, this very rapid adoption seems to have been less systematic in three ofthe Member States: Greece (transitions spread out over time in all three population categories, alongsideimmediate adoptions), Ireland (slower transition by many of the elderly persons) and Luxembourg (minoritydisplaying a wait-and-see attitude).

The following are among the reasons for the immediate or rapid adoption of the euro:

� The voluntarist enthusiasm and the feeling of a smooth transition into a new era

“No point in keeping on with something that’s over and done with” (Middle class, Italy)

“It’s like a rebirth, having known the franc and then suddenly entering a new world” (Person in aninsecure situation, France)

“A very great feeling of sympathy and enthusiasm” (Middle class, Belgium)

“At twenty past midnight I had my first banknotes” (Middle class, Germany)

� The will to take the plunge despite any forebodings and despite whatever efforts one might needto make oneself

“One might as well take the bull by the horns” (Middle class, Italy)

“The quicker one gets used to values in euros, the better” (Person in an insecure situation, Greece)

“I decided I had to get used to the euro right away. I said to myself: that’s it, the franc is dead, so justpull yourself together and you’ll get there” (Elderly person, France)

“From 4 January onwards I paid for everything in euros. I wanted to get used to it quickly” (Elderlyperson, Germany)

“I was determined to do my best with it, and in fact it was easier than I thought it would be” (Elderlyperson, Austria)

� The wish as far as possible to avoid the complication of dealing with two currencies at the sametime

That was a widely experienced motive, in all countries and among all categories of the population.

“For me, it just complicated matters to have both currencies, and it was a waste of time keeping thepeseta" (Middle class, Spain)

“I kept a few franc coins as a souvenir, but apart from that I wanted to get rid of them” (Middle class,Martinique)

“I tried to get rid of my francs as soon as possible after the 1st of January, just to avoidcomplications” (Person in an insecure situation, Belgium)

“To avoid the confusion of having two currencies” (Elderly person, the Netherlands)

� Occasionally (but this was rarely said outright), the fear of finding oneself with national currencythat wasn’t worth anything any more

This preoccupation surfaced in the comments made by certain interviewees in an insecure situation.

� The rapid de facto disappearance of banknotes and coins in the national currency

The factors underlying the wait-and-see attitudes sprang mainly from:

� Fears, on the part of the most vulnerable persons in the sensitive categories of the population that theywill not be able to cope with the unfamiliar coins and banknotes, that they would be quite unable toform for themselves any idea of the value of things in euros or, more rarely, fears of falling prey tocheats, fraudsters and money forgers.

“We’re concerned, of course, because we’re getting on in years, and everything that’s new isdisturbing and worrying” (Elderly person, Portugal)

“At the start, I had no idea how much money I needed to take with me” (Elderly person, Greece)

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� Psychological resistance to the arrival of a new currency, or at least a nostalgic desire to hang onto “the” national currency until the very end

“I miss the escudo a lot. It was the currency I’d always lived with, which is why I continued to use ituntil almost the very end” (Elderly person, Portugal)

“I’d have preferred to hang on to the Luxembourg franc, I’m not convinced by the euro” (Person inan insecure situation, Luxembourg)

It is nevertheless evident (except in the case of people with the most deep-rooted fears and most entrenchedprejudices), that the initial wait-and-see attitude present at the outset has often been transformed intomore active conduct, partly due to the complexities of dealing with two currencies at once and partly, nodoubt, to the speed with which the general transition to the euro occurred.

“I tried using both currencies and that was total confusion. So I tried to get rid of my escudos as quickly aspossible, because it was simply crazy to have both escudos and euros. In fact, they should have withdrawnthe escudo much sooner” (Person in an insecure situation, Portugal)

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III.2. REACTIONS TO EURO BANKNOTES AND COINS

• In accordance with the theme of the interview devoted to first impressions of euro, the people questionedwere moved to express, among other things, their feelings about the appearance of the notes and coins – apoint to which we shall be reverting later in a more focused way.

• Reactions to the euro banknotes can be summarised as follows:

� Most people find them aesthetically pleasing, though contrasting views are expressed in somecountries, tending towards the negative in one of them (the Netherlands)

What is attractive about them, apart from the fact that they are “nice new notes”, is their “bright andwarm” colours or, more precisely, the variety of colours (each corresponding to a specificdenomination), or their motifs. The symbolism of communication (by means of bridges, windows andgateways) is also mentioned as a particularly positive feature by interviewees in Ireland, France andGermany.

“They’re nice, they rustle pleasingly between the fingers” (Middle class, Italy)

“The notes look very European, the colours and the design are very sophisticated” (Middle class,Ireland

“Colourful, modern-looking banknotes” (Person in an insecure situation, Germany)

“The notes are not as austere as the old ones. The old ones were very German: serious,unimaginative” (Middle class, Germany)

Reservations relate sometimes to the notes looking rather like “Monopoly money” – a criticism heardfor example in Ireland, France, Luxembourg, Finland and the Netherlands; their relatively small sizeappears to play a role in shaping these impressions.

Some interviewees regretted their “impersonal” character or the absence of faces.

Reservations also relate (less often) to the quality of the paper, “particularly flimsy”, which eitheradversely affects handling (they stick to the hands, according to the Dutch) or raise doubts about theirdurability. These questions are mentioned by people questioned in Ireland, France, and especially inthe Netherlands, who sometimes seem to be projecting onto the banknotes their own anti-euroaggressiveness.

“Like Monopoly money, I have to say it doesn’t have the appearance of real money” (Middle class,Ireland)

“The colours change, the notes become fluffy like those of Eastern Europe or Spain, and on top of thatthey’re thin and they quickly go soft” (Elderly person, the Netherlands)

“For me it’s like Monopoly money, the kind of thing you played with when you were small. They’revery thin, they lose their colour, they tear easily, I even have a 5 euro note on which the silvered striphas come off. I think they’re having me on. It’s nice to play, but I prefer to have some real money inmy hands” (Middle class, the Netherlands)

� Familiarity with the face values of the different notes is good everywhere, at least for the mostcommonly-used notes of 5, 10, 20 and 50 euros

Familiarity with the higher-value notes, on the other hand, is patchy. Many know about or assume theexistence of 100 euro notes (though in certain countries fewer do so), but the two top-value notesregister with people far more rarely; even in the country where people are most aware of the existenceof the 200 and 500 euro notes, it is only a minority of interviewees who actually mention them.

It is very rare for anyone to mention banknote values that do not in fact exist (one Belgian waswondering about 15 or 25 euro notes, and two Austrians about a 1000 euro note).

� There is a very broad consensus as regards the ease of identification and of using euro notes.

Values are clearly indicated in large figures.

In addition, the system adopted of different formats and contrasting colours contributes to clarity: afew rare criticisms relate to the insufficient difference in size according to value, or to colours beingtoo closely similar between two notes.

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• Reactions to the coins are as follows:

� It is noticeable first of all that there is a good knowledge of all the coins in the “range” of differentvalues in euros and cents: practically no mistakes were made and no coins were forgotten wheninterviewees were asked to list them all.

� Spontaneous negative reactions referring to the excessively large number of coins were fairlyfrequently recorded in one out of two countries – among these were Member States where thenumber of coins is indeed greater than the number of coins in the national currency, but also in otherswhere this was not the case: Italy, Spain, Ireland, France, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

“It’s nice to have the same currency, that’s an advantage, but the cents and the coins, that’s really apain!” (Elderly person, Belgium)

“The 1 and 2 cent coins are quite useless, they should get rid of them!” (Person in an insecuresituation, Belgium)

“Would you believe it! We’ve got the cent back again” (Middle class, the Netherlands)

Criticisms centre on the existence of the 1, 2 and 5 cent coins – which people had got out of thehabit of using, which therefore seem anachronistic, and whose value people tend unconsciously tounderestimate; some interviewees openly suggest that they should be abandoned – hardly consideringthe impact that this could have on rounding up operations, which could prove fairly substantial.

In Finland, people are aware of the existence of 1 and 2 cent coins in the other countries, but aregenerally pleased that their national authorities should have decided to do without them.

� The 1, 2 and 5 cent coins are also the target of criticism on the part of interviewees in variouscountries on account of their size and their insufficient visibility (often on the part of elderlypersons) or, generally, on account of their aesthetic appearance – broadly in the same countries, aswell as Portugal and Greece.

The aesthetic appearance of the other coins, on the other hand, comes up for criticism only very rarely.

The existence of a country-specific side to each coin is greeted favourably by interviewees, who lookupon it as symbolising European diversity (and sometimes as a potential collectable item); however,not many people raised this point.

� More specifically, the ageing of the three “copper” coins is raised by citizens in severalcountries, who observe that they get dirty, that they turn black or that they “oxidise” quickly.

It is particularly in Spain, Portugal, France (and in its outlying region of Martinique) and Belgium thatone hears this kind of comment.

“They are still quite new and already they have turned black – they look as if they’ve been made frompoor quality material” (Elderly person, Spain)

“Have you seen my hands? Twice I’ve had to go to the doctor!” (Middle class, Martinique)

“They’re dirty, they lose their colour and they become disgusting after a very short time” (Middleclass, Belgium)

� In contrast to the notes which are clearly distinguishable one from another, the coins are not alwaysvery easy to tell apart at first sight, and quite a large number of citizens find they need to look atthem carefully when making a payment – and almost the identical comment is made in virtually all ofthe countries.

The most frequent difficulties in differentiation are mentioned in connection with the smallest 1, 2 and5 cents coins (confusion between the 1 and 2 cents, or between the 2 and 5 cents).

The same type of observation is also expressed, though less often, as regards telling the differencebetween the 10, 20 and 50 cent coins.

More rarely – but nevertheless in several cases – interviewees say that they cannot immediately tellthe 1 (even 2) euro and the 50 cent coins apart or believe it is illogical that the second should be of thesame or greater size than the first; occasional comments of the same order are made about other coinsthat are difficult to differentiate.

“There are so many and they look so alike that you have to read the figures… You spend your timeputting on your glasses and taking them off again, it’s got to the point where I ask the cashier to helpherself to what she needs” (Elderly person, Spain)

“For me the cents are just a muddle, and as I don’t see very well I simply can’t tell them apart”(Elderly person, Portugal)

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“The 1 and 2 cent coins are too small and the 5 and 2 cent coins are too much alike in size. I have tocheck them carefully every time by turning them over to the figure side” (Middle class, France)

“You really have to look, otherwise you make mistakes, there are too many coins of the same colour”(Person in an insecure situation, the Netherlands)

“It’s straightforward, but I get the coins mixed up” (Middle class, Finland)

� On the whole, however, there are no major or general criticisms of the system of euro and centcoins

Some people, when mentioning the confusions reported above, believe or hope that it will be “a matterof getting used to it” before the “reflexes” are acquired.

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III.3. DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTERED AND ADJUSTMENT STRATEGIES

• For reference, let us recall the problems mentioned by interviewees and already noted above,concerning:

� Difficulties caused by the coexistence of two currencies during the period of dual circulation.

For the most part these difficulties were minimal, or at any rate very short-lived, on account of therapidity of the changeover to the euro and the virtual disappearance of the national currency before theofficial deadline. There have been cases, moreover, where people initially inclined to carry on usingthe national currency for a while gave it up sooner than they had expected, precisely to escape thecomplications that they came across in practice.

� Perceived large number of (small) coins

This has been more of a nuisance or an annoyance, rather than a genuine difficulty.

� Possible confusion between coins

They require closer attention – in relation to which some people wonder if perhaps the need for it willdisappear as they get used to recognising the coins “automatically”, once they become more familiar.

� Increase in prices

Perceived to a very different degree from one country to another, they are deplored without anyonebeing able to find a remedy.

• Those questioned say that, otherwise, people will be afraid of deception, or simply mistakes.

� The first prove to be of minimal concern to most of them.

Even if, when they are asked to reply to a precise question about the “players” whom they can orcannot trust, interviewees tend (as indeed they did in the surveys conducted before the changeover tothe euro) to talk about their doubts regarding the behaviour of small shopkeepers, and sometimes oftradesmen too, very few actually mention any deceitful practices of which they themselves mighthave been victim.

A few have mentioned isolated and minor deceptions (for example, there was the case of a Belgianwho was given an Italian 500 lire coin in place of a 2 euro coin); some think they may have beenvictims of deception, or wonder if they might not have been, but are not really sure.

“The small coins are a real pain, it could be that I’ve been cheated with the currency, but I’m notsure” (Elderly person, Portugal)

Real fears are voiced particularly by the more vulnerable among the elderly or among people in aninsecure situation or the educationally backward.

As for the idea of fraud through the use of forged money, this was mentioned (as a possible risk) byonly one or two people among all those interviewed in the 12 Member States.

� Fear of unintentional mistakes (by others or oneself) is more widespread, but rarely takes on analarming character.

According to many interviewees, this fear was most strongly felt right at the start of the introductoryperiod of the euro. People’s confidence in their ability to detect such mistakes and to avoid them camegradually, whether it was a question of mistakes relating to the price payable and the amount tenderedin payment, or to the amount given in change.

• The main problem lies in the difficulty, which very largely persists even after a few months, offormulating a scale of values in euros and in being able to assess whether a price is high or not.

The idea is expressed in all the countries that, in the absence of such a scale of values, there is a danger ofspending – and that is the fear – more than one would normally have spent, and as a result one ceases tobe in control of one’s own personal or family finances.

This is particularly widespread in countries where the conviction among citizens that prices have risensubstantially is the strongest, and this obviously strengthens the impression that “money is flowing fasterthrough one’s fingers”.

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• Except in rare cases, those questioned continue to make the transition by converting into their nationalcurrency.

� For most of the estimates they have to make, they perform an approximate mental conversion,with degrees of difficulty that vary from one country to another.

This process appears easy in some countries: Germany (whose citizens acknowledge that theyhave been favoured by a conversion rate practically equal to 2, which is particularly simple), Portugal(where multiplying by 200 does not seem to pose any more problems, much to the surprise of some),Finland (also with the relative simple task of multiplying by 6): with very rare exception, all agree,including those in the sensitive categories of the population.

It is also relatively easy for many people in several other Member States: Italy (the number ofzeros in the conversion factor of 2000 does however call for a little more attention), Belgium andLuxembourg (where some mention the complication “of decimals” which they had lost the habit ofusing). The majority eventually get there without any great difficulties, but one does find cases ofelderly persons and particularly vulnerable people in an insecure situation who are an exception.

In a few other countries, things are more complicated: Ireland (interviewees from the middle class“adjust” the euro value by a more or less intuitive but sometimes very approximate factor, and othersexperience greater difficulties), Austria (multiplying by 14 is not accomplished in one go and peopletend to multiply first by 7 and then by 2, or to go via the Deutsche Mark, which constitutes aconversion scale with which many are already familiar), metropolitan France (the multiplicationfactor, 6 or more often 7, is very approximate and seems to be awkward to apply, and not only for thesensitive categories of the population), and the outlying region of Martinique (with the same basicdata, but with a much greater contrast between people relatively used to doing conversions, eitherthrough their contacts with foreign tourists or through their travels in or excursions to theneighbouring islands of the Lesser Antilles, and others with a very low level of education).

Conversion is manifestly difficult in two countries, Spain and Greece, where citizens tend toresort to mnemonic devices, having registered in their minds the equivalent in national currency of afew euro values: 6 euros = 1000 pesetas, 60 euros = 10,000 pesetas, 30 euros = 5000 pesetas, etc.;3 euros = 1000 drachmas, 2 euros = (about) 700 drachmas, 30 euros = 10,000 drachmas, etc.

This is a system used by some of the interviewees in one of the other countries analysed earlier,Austria, (7 euros = 100 schillings, 70 euros = 1000 schillings, 3.5 euros = 50 schillings, 1.5 euro = 20schillings, etc.); and a few French people use 15 euros = 100 francs as a starting point.

As regards Greece and Spain, while most people manage by this means to get an idea of prices, aminority among the most sensitive persons (the less well educated, those in a difficult situation,especially among Greek women), do not manage it and really have no other means to figure it out.

In one country, finally, the Netherlands, the effort of converting is discouraging and arouses asense of irritation that both feeds on anti-euro prejudices and reinforces them – and that applies to allpopulation categories, none appearing to have any greater or lesser difficulties than the others.

In the earlier surveys the Dutch tended spontaneously to think that it would be easy for them toperform approximate calculations (along the lines: multiply by 2 and add 10%, or adjust slightlyupwards from this result); in the 2000 survey it was apparent, when they were asked to perform actualestimates, that this process was in fact far less simple for them.

Some time after the introduction of the euro, there are still very many people who cannot be botheredto make the required effort.

• People are beginning to memorise a few prices of products and services in euros – but at this stagethese do not yet constituting a scale of values that would enable them to assess whether other productsor services are dear or not.

The interviews included “exercises” in which interviewees were invited to cite prices of different categoriesof products and services, before asking them to react to suggested prices for a few specific products.

An analysis of this part of the interviews will be presented in the next section; here we should like to recordonly the basics of what emerged from spontaneous comments.

Memorised and “firmly embedded” prices are essentially those of a few basic products or servicesbought daily or very frequently: coffee in a bar, cigarettes, bread, milk, fruit and vegetables in the markets(primarily in the countries of Southern Europe), a litre of petrol, tickets for public transport, fish bought fromlocal fishermen in Martinique, etc.

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More rarely, it may be a recently purchased or planned purchase of an expensive item (car, householdappliance).

In a similar vein, in a few countries (Greece, Germany, Austria) references were made to tips, to whichseveral people said they paid particular attention, the usual criteria as to the “normal” tip to leave having beenupset by the changeover to the new currency and the impossibility of finding an equivalent that made “around sum”.

• Analysis of the strategies for acclimatising to the euro and the means used to adapt to the new valuesrevealed the following principal points:

� Special vigilance

In the first few weeks, people tended to exercise special vigilance as much to spot cheating or, moreoften, mistakes in handling notes and coins, as to try to evaluate the appropriateness or otherwise ofprices.

“When you know that you have only 100 euros to spend on food, you take special care to spend itwell” (Person in an insecure situation, Spain)

“Before paying, I try to calculate the amount and, that way, I know how much change I should getback” (Elderly person, Portugal)

“I pay a lot of attention to the change I get. Before, if they gave me 50 pfennigs less, I didn’t make afuss about it. But now, 50 cents, that’s almost 1 DM” (Middle class, Germany)

“I have to be more careful in using my money, I’ve started multiplying everything by 6” (Elderlyperson, Finland)

Some people have also commented that they had paid special attention to the amount in euros of thefirst payments they had received (wages, social security benefits) – not because they were afraid offraud on the part of employers, but just to check that there had been no “mechanical” error.

This vigilance has clearly been relaxed by the majority of citizens; in the first place because,basically, the fear of deliberate cheating is not that great; secondly because, even in those countrieswhere people are up in arms over price rises perceived as being across the board, being more vigilantis scarcely going to prevent them from happening; and finally, because the initial confusion betweenbanknotes and (especially) coins has since given way to a growing familiarity.

“From a practical point of view, there are no more difficulties now” (Elderly person, Italy)

As we know from earlier surveys, and has been confirmed by the present one, the vast majority ofcitizens had waited for the changeover to the euro in a fairly passive state, taking hardly anyadvance preparatory measures; exceptions are to be found, however, among persons in the sensitivecategories: active use of kits of euro coins to familiarise themselves with their appearance, acquisitionof posters showing the banknotes, personal preparation of reference tables and index cards showingthe values of the notes, participation in some cases in euro familiarisation sessions organised by thesocial services or other associations, etc. Its actual arrival, however, passed off without any lastinganxiety.

� Recourse by particularly vulnerable persons to the assistance of family or friends.

This is mentioned in particular by elderly persons or those in an insecure situation in Italy, Greece,Belgium and Luxembourg, as a means of helping them to get their bearings and of teaching them thebasics of the new currency.

“I’ve sent my husband off to buy what needs to be bought and to pay the bills, I’m afraid to do itmyself” (Person in an insecure situation, Greece)

“My daughter explained everything to me at the start” (Elderly person, France)

“Mates talk among themselves, to help each other along” (Person in an insecure situation, Belgium)

“My niece told me what I needed to know and kept me up to date about everything, she works in abank” (Elderly person, Luxembourg)

In a few rare cases this has gone as far as refusal to do the shopping by oneself. Even after a fewmonths such people still profess themselves unable to manage on their own.

� Putting off major purchases

This is mentioned by some of the interviewees, but it is clearly not a general phenomenon.

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“This year I’ve given up going to the sales: I can’t understand what’s going on, double the prices anddiscounts at the same time!” (Person in an insecure situation, Italy)

“I have cut what I buy down to the absolute minimum until I can get the values into my head”(Elderly person, Germany)

� Increasing recourse to payment by credit card, and sometimes by money transfer, money orderor cheque

This has been mentioned by some elderly persons interviewed in Italy, Portugal, Belgium, Finland(where some even claim to having acquired a bank card solely for that purpose) as well as in Austria.

� Use of dual display or dual labelling as a benchmark or as a means of checking prices

Earlier surveys had shown that, while these measures had initially played an important role in raisingawareness of the certainty and ineluctability of the coming changeover to the euro and of its replacingthe national currency, people now recognise that they had paid but little attention to this in practiceand had continued to look only at the prices in national currency.

Dual display seems now to have a more concrete function for some people, who mention it inparticular in the interviews conducted in metropolitan France (a country where the conversion factor isdifficult to cope with), in Martinique (where dual display did not catch on until quite late, and then notuniversally), in Portugal (where, according to interviewees, it was also slow to take hold), as well as inBelgium.

“I look at both prices, that helps to understand the value of things that have to be paid for in euros”(Person in an insecure situation, Portugal)

“Until now we’ve had dual display, which makes things a lot easier” (Middle class, Martinique)

“Prices are still shown in Belgian francs, that saves calculating” (Elderly person, Belgium)

“Supermarkets still have the prices shown in florins” (Middle class, the Netherlands)

� Recourse to technological conversion aids, dedicated converters or calculators

These devices proved very useful to many people immediately after the introduction of the euro.

Their use seems to have quickly diminished in countries enjoying the simplest conversionfactors: Germany, Portugal and Finland. In Germany and Finland, some people used them at the start,and especially for large amounts, but they appear to have been abandoned by all categories of thepopulation; in Portugal, many people used them initially, before realising that they could by and largedo without them.

“No, it’s OK multiplying by 2, it’s easy. For the French and the Austrians it’s worse” (Middle class,Germany)

“I did buy a calculator and at the start I used it a lot, but I quickly got into the way of working it outin my head” (Middle class, Portugal)

“I quickly gave up the calculator for everything, I use it only for very large amounts” (Elderly person,Portugal)

It has also diminished fairly quickly in most of the other countries, where calculation aids arehardly used any longer except as a check, mainly at home as a means of checking large sums: inItaly (where initially many people took such a device with them when they went shopping in thestores), Greece, France, Belgium and Luxembourg.

“At the start, I had it with me all the time, during the early months when both currencies werearound” (Person in an insecure situation, Italy)

“Less and less: when large sums are involved or when I’m in doubt” (Middle class, Greece)

“I use the pocket calculator for those slightly special purchases” (Person in an insecure situation,France)

“I can’t grasp large sums. If someone tells me 3750 euros, I’m lost, I have to use a pocket calculator”(Middle class, France)

“The calculator, only at home, as an aid” (Elderly person, Belgium)

Even though their use is decreasing, it still remains more frequent in the other countries, at leastwhere certain parts of the population are concerned: Spain (still fairly often for checking largeamounts), Ireland (fairly widely, using converters distributed by the public authorities), Austria (still a

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great deal among persons in an insecure situation) and the Netherlands (especially for large amountsin all population categories).

“They gave us this free calculator, I found it perfect, a really good idea” (Elderly person, Ireland)

“I still sometimes use my pocket calculator” (Middle class, Austria)

“The calculator, it’s really the safest way to avoid making mistakes when estimating values” (Personin an insecure situation, Austria)

“If I’m buying anything major, a hi-fi system for example, then I take along my calculator (Middleclass, Netherlands)

“Even for small amounts, I use it” (Person in an insecure situation, the Netherlands)

� Use of simplified conversion cards or tables

Rarely, even though such aids were widely distributed in some countries (like Portugal or theNetherlands).

These only receive a significant mention from a few elderly people who are unaccustomed to using acalculator or cannot use one at all, particularly in Spain, Portugal, Ireland, France, and Luxembourg.

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III.4. PLAYERS THAT HAVE ASSISTED IN THE TRANSITION TO THE EURO

• Opinions as to the usefulness of measures carried out to prepare for the euro are for the most part verysimilar in the various countries of the euro zone.

Even if, still some months before the introduction of the single currency, the information distributed wasreceived very passively by most people, the fact that it was distributed and even drummed into people is nowrecognised as having played a useful role.

• The following are mentioned as having issued such information:

� The media – with the various written and audiovisual media used to a greater or lesser extentdepending on the country, reflecting the reading and listening habits of each one: televisioneverywhere, newspapers and radio to a variable degree.

� Banks – either through brochures that they had made available to the public, or through answers thatthey were able to give to specific questions – or post offices, more often frequented by persons in aninsecure situation, few of whom use banks especially in the countries of Southern Europe.

� Public authorities – not always referred to as such, but whose action has been exerted largely throughthe media and through information centres.

They are mentioned more explicitly in Ireland (information leaflet received through the post in everyhome), France, Finland (information “package” issued by an Information Bureau on the euro), andMartinique, specifically as regards the very numerous local awareness-raising measures to do with theeuro, conducted in collaboration between public authorities, chambers of commerce, bankingorganisations, associations, etc., targeted primarily, but not exclusively, at elderly people and othersensitive categories (commercial employees have accordingly benefited from it).

� Family or friends, who have given practical assistance to family members who are elderly or havinggreat difficulties.

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CHAPTER IV:

EUROPEANS, EURO PRICES

AND EURO PAYMENTS

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IV.1. MEMORISING PRICES AND VALUES IN EUROS

• Interviewees were invited to think about products or services of which they knew the price in euros (aswas done in 2001, although at that time they had also been asked to give first the prices in their nationalcurrency).

This exercise was conducted in two stages: in the first, they were invited to give up to 10 prices ofproducts or services of every kind; in the second, they were started off again and were asked to try tomemorise the prices of up to 5 products or services in different categories (fresh food products; otherfood products; expenditure on public transport or travel; leisure purchases; durable household goods).

Naturally, responses about the same kinds of purchases could be given by the different interviewees indifferent categories of products or services, particularly as regards food products (as not everyone necessarilyshares the same notion of fresh food products); similarly, for example, the same purchase could be put bysome in the transport category, by others in the leisure items category in the case of private travel, etc. Thedetailed list of responses given might therefore seem a little inconsistent, but the essential aim of this sectionof the interview was to arrive at an overall assessment of ability to memorise prices in euros, to identifytypical products of which the interviewee knows the price, and to reveal any marked differences in thecapacity for memorisation between consumers of the various Member States.

• The following emerges from the results of this exercise:

� Generally speaking, the ability to recall prices in euros is still poor: still appreciably poorer thanthe ability to memorise prices in national currency (as indeed is also indicated by comparisons thatcan be made with the results of the 2001 survey dealing with interviewees’ ability to recall prices thatthey have not assimilated in euros and which they continue to think of in terms of their nationalcurrency), and in some countries extremely limited (Ireland and the Netherlands).

� Marked differences between the three population categories surveyed exist in certain countries,but not in all, and moreover the differences are not always in the same direction.

These differences will be discussed later on.

� The beginnings of a scale of values and memorisation of prices in euros, which logically enoughcome about essentially through the most commonplace products and services, bought daily or atleast frequently – in other words most products with a low or fairly low unit value and with arelatively standard price.

• A more detailed examination of the responses reveals the following findings by country:

� The consumers in two countries, Italy and Germany, stand out clearly for their ability to recalla fair number of prices.

The average number of prices recalled in the first part of the exercise is of the order of 8 in Italy and 7in Germany; and taking into account all the prices recalled in the second part, totalling together all thedifferent categories, the figure is of the order of 15 in both cases.

There does not appear, moreover, to be any major difference depending on the population categoryquestioned as regard these overall numbers. In Germany, elderly people memorise perhaps a slightlysmaller number of prices than the others; in Italy there is a difference in particular between men whonever or almost never do the shopping, and other interviewees as regards regularly purchased foodproducts.

Many are capable of recalling 7, 8 or even 10 prices (and even more with some Italians) of foodproducts (fresh or otherwise), out of a theoretical total of 10.

As regards other purchases, the average number of prices recalled is 1.5 to 3 in the case of publictransport and 2 (2 to 3 in Italy) in the case of leisure products in both countries. The Germansdistinguished themselves by being able to recall an average of 3 household equipment products, theaverage in Italy being equal or slightly less than 1.

� Next come the Luxembourgers, with a typical spontaneous recall score of 4 prices in the first part ofthe exercise, and a total for the various categories of products and services of 8 to 10.

Here it is people in an insecure situation who have memorised the most prices in euros, followed bythe elderly, followed finally by the middle class consumers.

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The differences between these categories are observable principally in respect of food products (6, 5,and 3 to 4 prices recalled, respectively).

Elderly people are familiar with rather fewer prices in the areas of transport and leisure (but thedifference is not considerable): overall, the average interviewee can recall between 1 and 1.5 prices ineach of them. As for household products, each category can recall on average 2 prices.

� The Finns are also characterised by a relatively good ability to memorise, at least as far asmiddle class persons and those in an insecure situation are concerned: on average 6 to 7 pricesrecalled in the first part of the exercise, and 9 to 10 for the 5 specific categories of products andservices, of which 4 to 5 were food products. These people were typically also able to recall 2 pricesin the area of transport, 2 in leisure, and 1 in household equipment.

As for the elderly, they were able spontaneously to recall only 1 to 2 prices, and on average 3 pricesfrom among the 5 categories of products or services presented to them. Their knowledge of foodprices is particularly poor; they seem to pay little attention to them on account of their frequentpractice of paying by bank card.

� At a lower level of overall memorisation ability, two countries show a considerable similarityamong the three population groups: Spain and Greece.

The average Spanish interviewee will spontaneously recall 3 to 4 prices, and can memorise in all 6prices if made to concentrate successively on different types of products or services: 4 for foodproducts, 1 for transport, 1 for leisure, being very rarely able to recall the prices of durable goods.People in an insecure situation and women generally are better able to recall prices to do with food.

The average Greek interviewee will spontaneously recall 3 prices in the first part of the exercise, and 4to 5 in all in the second, the number being a little lower for persons in an insecure situation. Half theprices recalled were to do with food products, the remainder relating to transport (fewer in the case ofelderly people) and leisure (more for middle class people). As in Spain, recall of durable goods is veryrare.

� In two countries an average level of price recall is observed, except among the elderly where it issubstantially lower: Portugal and Belgium.

In Portugal, middle class interviewees and those belonging to the category of people in an insecuresocio-economic situation will spontaneously recall 4 prices on average and a total of 6 from amongthe different classes of products, of which half relate to food products (on average 1 price fortransport, 2 for leisure, the prices of household durables being very little known). Among the elderly,recall of prices in euros is overall half as good.

In Belgium, the numbers of prices recalled are of the same order – with overall a smaller number offood prices and a larger number of leisure product prices recalled (2) among the middle class segmentof the population, the gap between the elderly and the other categories being greater still.

� In France and Austria, a clear gap emerges between middle class interviewees, ablespontaneously to recall 3 to 5 prices and a cumulative total of the order of 7 for the 5 specific types ofproducts, and the other categories of the population; elderly people spontaneously recall fewestprices in euros, but persons in an insecure situation are scarcely able to improve on them in theircumulative price recall score for the 5 specific types of products or services.

On the one hand, middle class people are able to recall more food prices (typically 3 instead of 1.5 or2); on the other hand, their recall of prices relating to transport (1 on average), leisure (2) andhousehold durables (1) is much better than in the other categories, where it is very weak.

� Coming behind the first 4 countries above (where price recall is clearly, or even very clearly, betterthan elsewhere), and the next 6 (where it is at an average level, with different contrasts between the 3population categories surveyed), there are two other countries which are marked by very poormemorisation of euro prices: Ireland and the Netherlands – and that, more or less in everypopulation category.

The number of prices spontaneously recalled is only 1 or 2; the cumulative prices known in thevarious product classes scarcely exceeds 2 or 3, approximately half of them food prices.

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• The products or services that appear to be most readily or least readily memorised include thefollowing:

� In the category of fresh food products, bread (or various kinds of bread), fruit and vegetables (as acategory in all the countries, but of course with differences in the types of fruit and vegetablesaccording to the eating habits of each one), milk and eggs are recalled almost everywhere. Yoghurtsare recalled in many countries, butter, especially in the Northern European countries, cheeses lessfrequently and especially in the countries of Southern Europe which have a strong cheese-eatingtradition.

Other products are less often recalled: meats, delicatessen items such as ham, salami, poultry, fish(in Portugal, Greece and Martinique), cakes, brioches, rolls, croissants, etc.; products that are no doubtless regularly purchased and for which there is no single standard to the same degree as for the morereadily memorised products.

� In the category of other food products, items mentioned are substantially fewer and more dispersed.

Mostly they relate to products such as pasta, rice, oil (especially in the countries of the South),canned goods (vegetables, tuna, etc.), frozen foods, drinks (depending on the country, but especiallywine, beer, mineral water, fruit juice, Coca-Cola), coffee.

Also mentioned here and there are flour, sugar, jams, chocolate, breakfast cereals, canned soups orpackets of soup, French toast, biscuits, tea, salt, ice cream, cat food, etc.

� In the transport category, by far the most frequently memorised items are those relating to publictransport (price of tickets or season tickets for the bus, underground, suburban trains, as relevant),followed by petrol (or diesel) for those who have a car.

In addition, some interviewees occasionally mention specific main line train routes they use regularly,recent plane journeys or holidays that some of them can remember (mainly people from the middleclass), excursions and, less frequently, taxi fares, parking charges, motorway tolls, car insurance, tyrereplacement.

� In the leisure category too, a wide scatter is observed, with nevertheless relatively frequent mentionbeing made of the cinema, other kinds of places of entertainment, varying depending onindividual tastes (theatre, museum, discotheque for some younger people, zoo, stadium, swimmingpool, ice-skating rink, etc.) as well as drinks in cafés (coffee, beer) or restaurant meals, newspapersand magazines (especially daily newspapers and television magazines).

Also mentioned now and then are compact disks, computer diskettes, books, bouquets of flowers,sports equipment, bicycles, toys and games, children’s pocket money, various subscriptions,hairdresser, pedicure, or visits to the doctor, etc.

� As regards the category of household durable goods, this relates mainly to white or brownhousehold appliances (washing machine, vacuum cleaner, small domestic appliance, television,video recorder, CD or DVD player, etc.).

In addition there are mentions of cars, bicycles or motorcycles, various furniture, home improvementprojects (tiling, parquet flooring, staircase, plastering) or DIY products, clothing, shoes andaccessories, furnishing fabrics, etc.

In these cases they are products that people have recently bought or are looking to buying, andwhose unit price – which is in any case generally high – has been memorised for that very reason.

In some countries, interviewees have added non-food consumable items such as toilet paper,nappies, toothpaste, soap, detergent, etc., which are in fact repeat-purchase products.

� We note, in addition, among the initial spontaneous mentions of price, the frequent mention, bysmokers, of cigarettes (or tobacco), and the occasional mention of postage stamps.

• Interviewees were also asked if they knew the total amount of their income in euros.

� In the middle class, all or a clear majority of people claimed to know their incomes in euros, atleast approximately, but sometimes they had to stop and think a moment or work it out by converting(that applied to some people in Greece, Spain, metropolitan France and Martinique, and to many fromIreland and the Netherlands).

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� Among people in an insecure situation, this knowledge is overall the same, and even better (moreexact or spontaneous) in Portugal, Ireland and Finland, but less good in Belgium, Luxembourg andGermany (where a few interviewees did not know their incomes at all or had to work it out byconverting) and France (1 person in 2 in this category).

� Among elderly people, a good degree of knowledge is observable in 4 countries: Italy, Germany,Finland (a few omissions), Belgium (but with 1 in 2 having to resort to conversion), but less good inthe others: virtually systematic prior conversion in the Netherlands, inability of 1 in 2 people to givetheir salaries in euros in the other countries, with possibly even worse results in France andLuxembourg.

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IV.2. REACTIONS TO PRICES OF PRODUCTS OR SERVICES IN EUROS

• As in the survey conducted in 2001, interviewees were successively presented with the prices in euros of6 products or services; they were then asked to evaluate whether they were expensive or not, while notewas taken of the calculations or reasoning they applied in arriving at their conclusions.

In a second phase of the test, for each product or service they were presented with another offer, alsoexpressed in euros, with a price 10% lower than the first (but without their being told of this percentagedifference); the aim of the exercise being to determine to what extent the difference in price seemed to themappreciable or otherwise.

The products and services put forward in the exercise were the same as in 2001.

� Litre of milk, with an initial price of 52 cents and a second price of 47 cents1.

� Wide-screen colour television set, with an initial price of 608 euros, and a second price of 547 euros.

� Compact disk, with an initial price of 16.90 euros, and a second price of 15.20 euros1.

� Oil change on a car, with an initial price of 60.80 euros, and a second price of 54.70 euros.

� Pair of shoes (trainer-type), with an initial price of 38.90 euros, and a second price of 35 euros.

� Cake, with an initial price of 3.28 euros and a second price of 2.95 euros.

• The results of this test cab be summarised as follows:

a) In countries where the conversion factor is close to a simple number expressed by a singlesignificant digit

� In Germany, as indeed already in 2001, the basic approach, simple and direct for everyone, consistsin multiplying the offered price by the approximate conversion factor of 2.

This calculation is performed, depending on the individual, either on the exact posted price, or else onan approximation of the price achieved by omitting the decimals, but without any “vicious” roundingup: this leads to conversions into Deutsche Mark that are very close to reality.

In very rare cases, interviewees dispensed with converting and evaluated the expensiveness orotherwise of the product or service directly by reference to a price that they had memorised in euros;this relates to hardly anything other than the example of milk, which is judged to be inexpensive bycomparison with prices paid in German supermarkets.

Estimation of price differences is generally accurate, especially where products with a high unit valueare concerned. It is done by calculating the price difference in euros multiplied by 2, or else, in somecases, by the more or less intuitive appreciation of a 10% difference

There is a great measure of similarity between the 3 population categories surveyed when it come tothese various points.

� In Finland, everyone goes through the same conversion process by applying the approximateexchange rate of 6 to a slightly rounded price (in particular omitting the decimals), and gets therewithout any problems, even if the outcome is a little less accurate among people in the sensitivecategories, especially in cases where the posted price is not too close to a “round” price.

The perception of price differentials is stronger in the case of products with a high unit value(televisions), and less strong in the case of other products, especially when the product appears tothem to be cheap (as with the pair of shoes). However, when it comes to milk – a vitally essential foodproduct and no doubt endowed with a certain symbolism – among certain people in an insecuresituation it gives rise to different estimations as to the reduction in price.

Generally speaking, elderly people seem to be less attentive to prices and their differentials.

� In Belgium and Luxembourg, apart (as in 2001) from a few elderly people or those in a particularlyvulnerable situation and for whom any form of mental calculation is difficult, converting into nationalcurrency remains the principal method employed by interviewees, all using the same computational

1 Except in Ireland, where the prices for these two products were altered to 82 cents and 21 euro, respectively.

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approach: multiply the posted price by 40 or (for higher values) by 4 then 10, after rounding to a nearvalue (a half-euro for the milk, 600 euros for the television, 16 but sometimes 20 for the compact disk,60 for the oil change, 40 for the shoes and 3 for the cake).

A slight intuitive correction is sometimes applied to take account of the approximation thus made (forexample in the case of the “vicious” adjustment of the price of the compact disk to 20 euros).

This process is performed fairly easily, faster and with fewer mistakes than in 2001 in the vulnerablecategories where these occurred sometimes. In particular, the confusion caused to some by the figuresafter the decimal point is reduced.

In addition to this still predominant mode of reasoning, a few cases of direct evaluation of suggestedprices in euros are beginning to appear: for example, one interviewee had seen an advertisement for atelevision set apparently comparable to the one for which the suggested price was 700 euros; anotherremembered buying a cake with a coffee in a coffee shop for 2.30 euros; and there was the responsefrom a person in an insecure situation that the price of the television set exceeded his monthly income.

As for evaluating differences in prices for the same product, this is generally done by first calculatingthe difference (possibly after rounding) in euros and then applying the factor of 40, here again more orless intuitively adjusting the result to allow for any approximations made along the way.

Logically enough, these differences appear to be more substantial when dealing with higher startingvalues, but in isolated instances one does observe “telling” differences in euros estimated “visually”,such as 5 euros (approximately) for the oil change, or 5 cents for the milk.

� In Portugal, the computational logic remains the same as in 2001, in other words, multiply by aconversion factor of 200, ignoring the decimals and rounding the starting price.

This process leads to relatively accurate orders of magnitude for the prices. Some people in thesensitive categories of the population continue to be more hesitant about the calculations to beperformed, but the gap that existed between them and interviewees from the middle class has clearlynarrowed (some of them still refuse to evaluate whether products or services are expensive or not ifthey have no use for them).

The confusion sometimes caused by the cents in the previous survey is hardly noticeable any morethis year.

As regards differences in prices for the same product, these are still perceived as real, though notworth considering; however, interviewees take less trouble to evaluate them accurately, sometimessimply taking the view that “any reduction is good” without any further calculation.

� In Italy, all or nearly all interviewees now seem to be skilful in converting and multiplying by 2000 –the difficulties brought on previously by the presence of decimal points, decimal places and a greatmany zeros seem largely to have disappeared.

This leads them to make reasonably reliable estimates, apart from a few approximations performed onthe starting price, and to a ready ability quickly to assess whether a price is high or not – and thatapplies to all categories of the population (apart from a few rare exceptions among some highlyvulnerable individuals).

The evaluation of differences in prices for the same product or service is initially “visual” on theprices in euros, for those among them with a higher unit value.

In a second stage, interviewees undertake two different calculation processes. One group convert thereduced price in lire to compare it with the baseline price, while the other group first calculate theprice difference in euros and then apply the conversion factor to it. In both cases the exercise seems tobe more taxing, and also more of an approximation than the initial assessment of expensiveness orotherwise, on account of the excessively rough approximations which impact more heavily when oneis dealing with price differences, and also on account of having ignored the decimals.

� In Ireland, the consumers questioned appear to have made significant progress, in comparison withthose in the 2001 survey, in their ability to convert euro amounts into their national currency; it will beremembered that in 2001, despite the closeness to a simple number (0.8) for the value of the euro inpounds, very few thought to use this value, tending instead to memorise the conversion rate based onthe (approximate) reciprocal of 1.25 or 1.3.

However, conversions and estimates are often still approximate, or even highly intuitive, (first takinga price as if expressed in pounds and then deducting from it, roughly, a fifth or even a quarter).

The difficulties and errors that result from this approach are considerably greater when dealing withmore expensive products.

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A few people are beginning to make direct references to known prices in euros (price of milk and of acompact disk in one case), but such cases are still rare.

As for price differences, these are evaluated in the same fashion, in other words rather subjectively.

b) Countries in which the conversion rate is close to a number with two significant digits

� In the Netherlands, where everyone goes through a conversion using the rate of 2.20, the logic is aslast year to first multiply by 2 and then add 10% or apply an intuitive correction factor.

As elsewhere, these calculations are applied to rounded base prices; they lead to results that arereliable in terms of order of magnitude, but are often underestimated by 5% to 10%. In addition, it isobserved in elderly people and those in an insecure situation that their attention quickly drifts asproducts and services, as well as the calculations needing to be performed, follow one another insuccession and, as interviewees become fed up, estimates become less and less accurate.

As for the price differences, these are nearly always judged to be substantial, regardless of the unitvalue of the product or service, after quickly multiplying the difference by 2 (or by a little more than2). Even with the least expensive products in terms of unit cost, such as milk, it is noted that 5 eurocents are worth 10 florin cents – and the idea remains firmly rooted by implication that the changeoverto the euro has led to a price hike.

� In Austria, conversion is performed by multiplying by 14 (rather than by 13) or, more often, by atwo-stage process, multiplying first by 7 and then by 2, or else by applying a factor of 10, finishing offby adding 50% “less a little bit”.

In these distinctly more complex processes than in the countries presented previously, middle classpeople always, or nearly always, arrive at realistic orders of magnitude, but with sometimes veryconsiderable differences from the actual value in schillings when the suggested prices are not close toa very simple number, or dealing with products that have a high unit value. Thus, for example, theconverted price of milk is very little different from the actual price (a half-euro, 7 schillings), but withother products and services very substantial differences are observed between the various estimates:from 7000 to 10,000 schillings for a television, from 200 to 300 schillings for a compact disk, from800 to 1000 schillings for an oil change, and from 470 to 650 schillings for a pair of shoes; and as forthe cake, some people are content with a very vague estimate, equating 3 euros to half of100 schillings.

Persons in an insecure situation show themselves to be fairly comparable in their estimations tomiddle class people, and sometimes more accurate, but in one or two cases they make completemistakes in the order of magnitude.

The greatest problem is with the elderly. While some of them prove that they are capable of the samekind of estimations, others arrive at extremely approximate or even totally absurd numbers, except inthe case of the price of milk.

In Austria some comparisons are made directly with reference to memorised euro prices (cakes boughtat a bakery, shoes bought in a store, etc.), but that is rare.

Price differences for the same product appear to be all the greater in Austria where one is dealing withhigh unit values, in the first place by a “visual” effect (a difference of 5 euros, of 50 euros, with acurrency unit that carries much more weight than the national currency) – before these initialimpressions are confirmed or not by multiplying the rounded price difference by the conversion rate.

� In Greece, the normal process is that of conversion – even for a basic product like milk, whoseaverage value in euros is known to many.

Like the interviewees from 2001, those interviewedthis year multiply, or attempt to multiply, by 340,at least for the lower (rounded) prices, or proceed through several stages: first multiply by 300, thenby 40, now add the two results together, or apply an intuitive correction factor.

Another method sometimes used involves mnemonics: 3 euros = 1000 drachmas, 6 euros = 2000drachmas, 60 euros = 20,000 drachmas, 100 euros = 34,000 drachmas, 300 euros = 100,000 drachmas,etc.

Interviewees from the middle class and many people in an insecure situation arrive at a reliable orderof magnitude but with the same broad approximations; they appear to be more assured in performingthe exercise after the changeover to the euro and the de facto training they have had.

Very few people have a scale of values in euros (just one person knew the posted price of an oilchange in a neighbouring garage).

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Evaluating price differentials by applying a conversion rate to the difference leads them to see these assubstantial, both for basic reference products such as milk and for dearer products; their perceptionsare more confused when it comes to the compact disk, whose basic price and price differential aredifficult to grasp and subject to considerable rounding, whereas in the case of the shoes, the initialperception of an already cheap product often makes them ignore the 10% differential.

Elderly people on the whole seem to experience serious difficulties: several of them reached for acalculator in the presence of the interviewer (though in fact one of the interviewees did not know howto use one without making mistakes), others declined to perform most of the exercises put beforethem, and only the odd one coped with them easily and without going wrong.

c) Countries in which the conversion rate is not close to a simple number consisting of one or twosignificant digits

� In Spain, rather than apply a complex conversion rate, most people prefer to rely on mnemonicdevices that they have assimilated very well: 6 euros = 1000 pesetas, so 3 euros = 500 pesetas, 12euros = 2000 pesetas, etc.

With the exception of a proportion of the elderly people and some particularly vulnerable people in aninsecure situation, they proved to be fairly skilled in this exercise, arriving at estimates that wereapproximate but still of the right order of magnitude, though with greater difficulties for a productwith a high unit cost, such as the television set. Their assessment of one product, milk, was theexception; many had memorised and recorded the “normal” price in euros of this product and referredto it directly.

Evaluation of the price differentials starts with the difference in euros between basic price and thereduced price. These differentials appear to be more appreciable as the unit price increases, andespecially in the case of the television set. People in an insecure situation, however, seemed to be farmore sensitive to all the differentials and take into account differences in the cents that other segmentsof the population tend to ignore.

� In France, the processes used to acquire a scale of values seem to have in part evolved since 2001:firstly by the now more frequent application of an approximate conversion rate of 7 rather than 6; andsecondly through recourse by some to mnemonic devices such as 15 euros = 100 francs.

However, the operation of estimating clearly remains a difficult one, except in the case of high pricesand simple prices like that of a litre of milk or a cake (divide 6 or 7 by two, multiply 6 or 7 by 3).

Interviewees from the middle class generally arrived in the case of all products at realistic orders ofmagnitude, despite a few enormous errors relating to a high-priced product such as the television set,but sometimes with very broad approximations. The mnemonic device referred to above is only of useto them for assessing the price of a compact disk at 100 francs or slightly over.

People in an insecure situation are even more imprecise and seem occasionally to suffer from a mentalblock, and the same applies to the elderly, who are sometimes capable of making big mistakes.

The estimation of price differentials is performed by applying the simplified conversion rate to therounded difference between the two price levels. This is still more approximate, with estimateddifferences going from 1 to 2 in relative value both for an expensive product such as a television set,and for products with a low unit value such as a litre of milk or a cake (one ignores the difference atthe start, so its translation into francs is therefore performed using the “moist finger” method); thisfinding is true even of middle class interviewees.

� In the outlying region of Martinique, those from the middle class that were questioned turned outnot to differ significantly from their metropolitan counterparts.

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IV.3. RESULT OF SIMULATED CASH PAYMENT IN EUROS

• An initial exercise put before interviewees consisted in paying for a purchase of 113.87 euros using thenotes and coins contained in a “purse” comprising

1 × 100 euro note 2 × 40 cent coin1 × 50 euro note 2 × 20 cent coin1 × 20 euro note 2 × 10 cent coin1 × 10 euro note 2 × 5 cent coin1 × 5 euro note 2 × 2 cent coin1 × 2 euro coin 2 × 1 cent coin2 × 1 euro coin

� This exercise presented almost no difficulty to virtually all the interviewees belonging to themiddle class.

There was just one case (in Greece) where the interviewee got it wrong when he presented the amountof 115 Euros and declared that he was waiting for change, and also a few cases of confusion betweenthe various coins (20 cents and 50 cents in Germany and Austria).

At the very most, in a few countries, it was observed that interviewees were careful to study the coinsclosely to avoid confusion (Ireland, the Netherlands, Austria).

� As regards the majority of people in an insecure situation, the position is basically no different,even though in nearly every country there will be the odd person who makes a mistake, forexample by taking a particularly long time to proceed with the operation – instances of this beingmost common in 2 countries: Portugal and Belgium.

The mistakes relate to confusion between the coins; between 1, 2, and 5 cents, between 10, 20, and 50cents, and between 1 euro and 2 euros. To this problem sometimes seems to be added the lack of anypractice in subdividing the monetary unit in countries where such sub-units have long disappeared.

� As regards elderly people, on the whole they do not appear to be experiencing any specialdifficulties in the majority of countries: Spain, Ireland, France, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands,Austria, Finland – except for perhaps a slight slowness or irritability when presented with an exercisethat they are not used to doing in their everyday life (not taking the trouble to find the right money orusing many other forms of payment rather than cash).

Some do make mistakes, which they do in fact sometimes correct of their own accord, but with theoccasional exception do arrive at handing over the exact sum requested.

Difficulty in accomplishing the task seems to be slightly greater in Luxembourg.

On the other hand, in 3 countries, many show that they are having problems: Italy, Portugal andGreece.

The difficulties encountered relate in the first place to frequent confusion between certain coins:between 1, 2, and 5 cents, between 10, 20, and 50 cents, between 1 euro and 2 euros, between 50 centsand 1 euro, and even between 1 et 10 cents, or 2 and 20 cents; essentially the problem lies in visuallyidentifying the values of the different coins (by systematically turning them over to the side displayingthe value), but one also detects a certain degree of confusion caused by the very existence ofsubdivisions of the monetary unit.

• A second exercise had to do with giving change. Interviewees were asked to imagine that they had just paidwith a 200 euro note for a product priced at 38.90 euros, and to put together, from the same “purse”, themoney that should be given to them in change.

� The first thing to become apparent right from the outset was the ignorance of the very existence of a200 euro note – which however had no impact on the eventual ability to complete the exercise (exceptin the case of one person who initially refused to go on with the exercise, convinced that a counterfeitnote was involved).

� In the majority of cases this exercise poses no real problems by comparison with the firstexercise for the middle class interviewees – some of the French, Belgians and Luxembourgers, onthe other hand, had more serious difficulties, as did a more substantial proportion of the Italians andIrish.

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� Things are not very different in the case of persons in an insecure situation in Spain, Portugal,Germany and Finland (even if 1 or 2 make some mistakes or prove to be particularly slow): on theother hand, the difficulties are far more obvious in the other countries in 1 out of 2 people, oreven more: they either make mistakes during the process, or they do finally complete the task but veryslowly and with obvious caution, or else in a few cases they are unable to manage it at all.

� The situation is more or less the same as regards elderly people, with a few slight differences:after the Spaniards, Portuguese, Germans and Finns, who make the fewest mistakes, come the Frenchand the Dutch (who however take a great deal of time to eventually give the required amount,correcting along the way any mistakes that they might have made during the process), and the elderlyBelgians and Luxembourgers, who appear to be less different from their middle class compatriots.

The citizens of the other countries experience the same difficulties as their compatriots in an insecuresituation, and more so in Italy and Greece.

� To the causes of the difficulties already identified in the first exercise (confusion between coins,occasional lack of familiarity with subdivisions of the monetary unit) there are now added theinability to perform a mental calculation involving subtraction (especially with values that includedecimals), and the fact that some people are simply thrown by an exercise that they neverperform: that of giving change, which is the job of shopkeepers; in doing so they confirm that theybut rarely pay any attention to the change they receive.

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CHAPTER V:

REMAINING EXPECTATIONS AND NEEDS

FOR HELP WITH ACCLIMATISATION

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V.1. SPONTANEOUSLY EXPRESSED EXPECTATIONS AND NEEDS

• Interviewees were asked what could be of use in their views to get used to the euro, on which aspects theypersonally would need to know more, to find means that would help them get used to the euro – and thenthey were asked where they reckoned they might find such information and assistance.

In all the countries, the vast majority of those questioned were spontaneously inclined to think thatthere was scarcely anything more needed on the matter: the euro is there, its introduction went well onthe whole without any difficulties, and in many ways more smoothly than anyone could have hoped orimagined. Credit is often given to the players who have contributed to this transition for the information andawareness-raising campaigns that they have conducted – whether that means the public authorities, orbanking organisations, or the social services in the case of citizens who are vulnerable due to their age ortheir insecure situation, or traders and, first and foremost, the large retail sector.

It is widely felt that now it is simply a question of letting time do its work, for people to get used to the euroin their own way, for them to be able intuitively to understand its value, to construct a scale of values, and forthem to finish familiarising themselves with the coins that they are having trouble identifying.

At the same time, some feel or suppose that measures to accustom people could continue to prove useful, butonly for people other than themselves, and that is true of virtually every category of the population surveyed;middle class people mention measures that could possibly be useful for the elderly, but these same people inthe same countries make comments of the same nature, but thinking about people older than themselves; orelse reference is made to a priori handicapped segments of the population (residents in psychiatric hospitals,old people who have lost their independence and live in nursing homes, blind people, etc.).

Even in the two a priori vulnerable categories of the population there are only a small number ofpeople who will admit to experiencing continuing great difficulties, but those would greatly welcomeany campaign that would help them “not feel so lost any more”.

� A few elderly people or persons in an insecure situation in Italy, who feel very much left behind bythe euro, would like some courses, some kind of system of tutoring and personalised help.

� Some people in Spain suggest introducing measures of a similar nature in the poorer districts, thoughwith a greater emphasis on voluntary action (to help people to handle the new currency and forget thepeseta)

� This expectation is less clearly expressed in Portugal, where some will however admit, when pressed,to the possible usefulness of counters or booths where one could find information and assistance incase of need; these could be sited for example in social security offices.

� Some suggestions have been made in Greece concerning information services for the elderly, ofoffering help with the use of calculators, or posters showing the various banknotes and coins and theirvalues.

� In Belgium, the few interviewees encountered who proved to be particularly vulnerable among thosein an insecure situation admitted that “they didn’t know how to make certain payments” (but manageto obtain help and advice from someone working at the local post office).

� Some Austrians, especially in the category of socio-economically insecure people, mention theusefulness of a calculator (a person who does not have one) or else feel a need to be reassured that theidentical euro coins in other European countries all have the same corresponding values, etc. butwithout expressing any real anxiety.

� Very few Finnish people who are in an insecure situation mention the usefulness of possibly beingable to turn to someone in a bank or at a hypermarket .

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In these particular cases it is clearly no longer a matter of providing just general information, butthere could possibly be a need for personalised assistance.

Otherwise, there are occasional references to the following:

� A campaign by the public authorities against price increases (or fraud), something mentionedspontaneously by people from Spain, Ireland and Germany, and also mentioned later, after thequestion had been put to them again, by citizens from Italy, Greece, Luxembourg, the Netherlands andAustria.

� Occasionally, there are those who express a wish for the range of coins to be simplified – towhich we shall be returning later. At this stage, this wish is expressed by various people in France,Belgium, Germany (although they look upon it as wishful thinking), and in Austria (where somewould also like to see banknotes replace the 2 euro coin and possibly even the 1 euro coin).

� The maintenance of dual display and dual labelling – though this is a controversial subject, and oneabout which the attitudes of any one person can be ambivalent.

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V.2. REACTIONS TO ANY MEASURES THAT COULD BE ENVISAGED

• Various measures that could be envisaged as a means of getting used to the to the euro were next putto the interviewees.

d) An information service to which one could turn free of charge by telephone, or by minitel or teletext oreven via the Internet, etc.

The general reaction to this suggestion was either to reject it on the grounds that it is not moreinformation that is needed now, or else to agree to it in principle despite the idea failing to find genuinesupport among the majority; besides, the idea of access via the Internet seems paradoxical for a measurethat would a priori be targeted only at the most vulnerable people and those that the changeover to theeuro has revealed to be the most deprived, who would not have such access.

e) The welcome is better in Greece (but perhaps at the idea of something “for free” at least as much as forthe content), in Belgium among some people in an insecure situation, as well as in Austria (with the ideathat this would not be a service providing general information but a means of finding answers to specificpersonal questions).

f) Persons specially trained and entrusted to give information about the euro in public departmentswith which people may have contact.

The usefulness of such a measure tends to be discounted in several countries: Spain, Ireland,Luxembourg, Germany, Austria, Finland, either on the grounds that the need for it does not exist or at anyrate exists no longer, or sometimes on account of the cost that it is assumed it would involve. Apart fromwhich, it is sometimes pointed out that this service already exists de facto in banks and post offices.

It is better received in Greece on the point of principle (but with little faith in the effectiveness of publicservices in that country), in Portugal, metropolitan France (on a fairly theoretical level, however, andthinking in terms of others rather than oneself), in Martinique (where face-to-face contact is especiallyvalued over contact by telephone), in Belgium (despite fears on the part of people in the vulnerablecategories that they will receive nothing but excessively short “bureaucratic” explanations difficult tounderstand), in the Netherlands (for the benefit of the elderly and those in an insecure situation, butwithout any real expectation).

In Italy it appears to be wished for by no more than a minority of highly vulnerable people.

g) Persons like you, in your district or in your neighbourhood, volunteering to inform people about the euroand to help them in their difficulties, and who are trained for that.

Similar to the previous proposal, but suggesting closer contact and more personalised, this is viewedfavourably in Portugal, Ireland, by some interviewees in Martinique (who point to the plentiful localmeasures that were put in place prior to the introduction of the euro, and who are thinking in terms of anextension in time that could possibly be useful for isolated rural villages), in Belgium by some, as also inAustria.

Sometimes, while subscribing to the basic idea, the view is expressed that this type of action should becarried out in the local community or integration centres rather than being done door-to-door, whichwould often be rejected.

In the other countries this proposal tends to be dismissed, either because the need for it is not there or isnot felt any longer, or for fear of the intrusion of “strangers” in an area that is regarded as particularlyprivate, that of money (this comment was made often, especially in Italy, Greece, France, theNetherlands, Austria and Finland).

h) The free provision to every home of a simplified calculator that would enable values in euros to beconverted into the national currency or national currency into euros.

This proposal was not seen as being really useful by more than a few elderly interviewees or people in aninsecure situation encountered in Belgium.

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Generally speaking, the people interviewed already have calculators or converters, or else (this isespecially true of some elderly people) they do not know how to use them or cannot see well enough to beable to envisage ever using them.

It is very widely recognised that calculators have been and still are useful, but the need has been by andlarge satisfied.

i) Simplified pocket conversion tables for converting values in euros into the national currency or nationalcurrency into euros.

There too, apart from a very few interviewees (in Ireland, Martinique and Austria among elderly persons)the need for such aids belongs rather to the past than the future.

Besides, the actual usefulness and practicality of those that were distributed (quite widely in certaincountries) proved to be not as great as those of the calculators or converters.

j) Small pocket cards showing the average prices in euros of recently purchased reference products.

Except in some very rare cases, such cards seem quite pointless: because the prices of products can varyappreciably between one point-of-sale and another (and from one brand to another), and also because thatwould presuppose a deliberate effort to memorise prices, and there was some doubt about that. Some goon to say that keeping on with dual labelling fulfils the same function more usefully.

k) Continuing to label and display prices in national currency alongside the prices in euros (and for howlong?).

Reactions to this proposal appear everywhere to be ambivalent or controversial: while the usefulness andthe reassurance role of dual display and dual labelling is acknowledged, at the same time there are manywho stress the need “to take the bull by the horns” and to do away with references in national currency(such feelings being particularly strong in Italy).

The usefulness of such a measure seems very clear to at least a proportion of the interviewees in somecountries: elderly people and those in an insecure situation in Greece, Ireland, and Belgium, and peoplebelonging to the second category in Austria; it is universally demanded in France (metropolitan France aswell as Martinique).

An in-depth analysis of the reactions does in fact show a broad consensus – broader than it may seem atfirst sight – for still maintaining dual price display for a time: for those whose time recommendation isshortest that means 6 months; many would prefer the end of 2002, while only a fairly small minority ofvery nervous people would like to keep it longer (2 years? 5 years?).

Needless to say, such assertions, made at a given point during the process of transition to the euro, shouldnot be allowed to prejudge how people’s minds might change in this regard over the coming months.

l) Short television broadcasts to give practical information about how to pay in euros.

Such a measure is judged as having been useful at one time but now overtaken by events by the majorityof interviewees in Italy, Portugal, Ireland, Luxembourg, Germany, the Netherlands and Finland, and alsoin Belgium with the exception of people in an insecure situation.

It remains useful in the eyes of a substantial number of people in Spain, Greece, France and Austria(especially the elderly in the latter country) and, it has been said, in Belgium by people in an insecuresituation – provided one might be able by this means satisfy concrete expectations on matters that will nodoubt vary from one person to another, in addition to giving information of a general nature.

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V.3. EXPECTATIONS EXPRESSED WITH REGARD TO THE PUBLIC AUTHORITIES OF THEEUROPEAN UNION

• Group discussions were concluded with a final topic in which participants were informed about the factthat this study had been carried out “at the request of the European Commission acting jointly withMember States of the European Union”, before being asked to say what could or should be done tofacilitate acclimatisation to the euro.

It is worth drawing attention at this point to the general context, which has emerged from a number of otherstudies carried out for the Commission, of the vast ignorance and wooliness surrounding the perceptions ofCommunity institutions in general; the specific responsibilities of the Commission are hardly appreciatedother than by a small number of people, and the same applies to the division of roles between the institutionsand the Member States.

The following might be noted:

� The need felt for public action to “monitor prices”, “to control increases”, or even to preserve“stability of the value of the currency”, expressed here in Italy, Greece, Luxembourg, theNetherlands and Austria.

� The demand (which one knows was sometimes merely theoretical) either for simplifying the rangeof coins by reducing their number (getting rid of the 1 and 2 cent coins) or for these coins to be“recast” to make them more identifiable and more practical to use: a demand expressed in particularin France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Austria.

� A campaign, for which a wish has occasionally been expressed, to encourage retention of thesystem of dual display and dual labelling: in Greece, France (and, in Martinique, to encouragemaking dual display universal, which at present it is not).

� Suggestions: to continue disseminating information (for example about the rules for rounding, aboutthe characteristics of the coins to enable people more easily to tell one from another, or possibly torecognise forgeries, the same for notes, reiteration of the fact that the euro has an equal value in thevarious countries, etc.).

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ANNEX:

SOCIO-DEMOGRAPHIC COMPOSITION OF SAMPLES -

INTERVIEW GUIDE

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COMPOSITION OF THE SAMPLE BY SEX AND AGE

D A B E SF F M GR IRL I L NL P

Elderly personsMenWomen

70-74 years75-80 years

34

34

34

43

34

52

43

43

34

43

43

34

--

--

43

43

43

43

43

43

34

34

34

52

34

34

Persons in an insecure situationMenWomen

30-39 years40-50 years

43

43

44

44

26

53

34

34

43

34

34

43

--

--

34

52

43

34

43

43

34

43

34

34

34

43

General publicMenWomen

30-39 years40-55 years

43

43

43

34

34

34

43

43

43

43

43

43

54

54

34

34

43

43

34

43

34

34

43

43

34

43

NB: The interviews were conducted in the following cities: Cologne, Vienna, Antwerp (Flemish speakers) and Brussels(French speakers), Madrid, Helsinki, Paris, Le Marin/Sainte Anne, Athens, Dublin, Milan, Luxembourg, Amsterdam andLisbon.

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CHAPTER VI:

CONCLUSIONS

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1. The results of this study confirm a range of evidence from various sources showing that the changeover to the eurohas generally gone smoothly according to the vast majority of citizens in the 12 Member States in the euro zone.

Most have not encountered serious difficulties in adapting "physically" to a new currency which they have rapidlyadopted in their everyday life, well before the end of the dual circulation period (to the extent that the date on which thenational currency was officially withdrawn from circulation appears to have passed largely unnoticed).

This ease has come as a surprise to many, particularly in countries where they expected to encounter greater hurdles,such as Italy, Spain, Ireland and France (and to a lesser extent Greece).

2. This finding is true, with very rare exceptions, of all those persons from the middle class who were questioned, butalso of a high proportion of citizens from the more "sensitive" categories of the population, such as elderly peopleand people in insecure socio-economic situations.

3. However, a number of "pockets" remain in which there are still serious difficulties in terms of familiarisationwith the euro among people with insecure jobs, particularly in Italy, Spain, Greece, Belgium and Austria, and amongelderly people in Italy and Greece: not all people in these categories in these countries are affected, nor even a majority,but they exist, and the problem they pose is all the more delicate as they are the section of the population most at riskowing to their very low level of education, the effects of age on their memory or speed of thought, or low exposure tothe outside world in their everyday life which makes them unreceptive to the classical information and awareness-raising measures.

4. The problems encountered – sources of major difficulties for those persons particularly at risk referred to above,but also of inconvenience or unease for many more, including those in the middle class – relate to the followingaspects:

• conceptual difficulty in subdividing the monetary unit, to which citizens in some countries were not accustomedand to values in euro including decimals; this is in fact relatively low.

• handling the coins. While handling the notes appears to be straightforward, handling the coins is often cited as acause of errors, delays or irritations, owing to what is seen as a large number of coins (even in countries where thenational currency had as many, if not more), confusion between coins of different values, the need to at least turnthe coin over to be certain of its value, or the perceived pointlessness of the 1, 2 and 5 cents coins, added to thedrawbacks of mediocre appearance, accelerated ageing (perceived as such only in some countries, though strongly),and poor legibility.

No doubt the problem is in part simply a lack of familiarity, but the phenomenon appears sufficiently widespread tomerit attention.

In the currency handling exercises which interviewees were asked to perform, it was noted that quite a large numberof people in insecure situations and elderly people in a number of countries (particularly in Greece, Italy, Portugaland Belgium) had difficulty carrying out a simulated cash payment, and that there were errors; and as for thesimulated exercise of returning change, many more, including some in the middle classes, found this operationdifficult, with problems in identifying the coins being compounded by the need for unfamiliar mental calculation insubtraction, particularly for numbers involving decimals.

• A major problem is the absence of a scale of values.

5. It has transpired that there are practically no scales of values for euros among the vast majority of citizens, of allcategories, who continue almost systematically to convert into the former national currency when evaluating theprice of a product or service.

Prices are beginning to be memorised, with significant differences as to the number of prices in euro whichinterviewees are able to fill in spontaneously in an exercise with that aim; memorisation is better particularly in Italyand Germany, followed by Luxembourg and Finland, but particularly weak in Ireland and the Netherlands.

Whatever the differences of degree, however, it is found everywhere that the prices memorised and assimilated areonly for essential everyday products and services, purchased daily or at least very frequently, relatively standardisedin their definition and with a low unit value: basic food products such as bread, milk, the most popular fruit andvegetables, eggs, etc.; tickets or season tickets for public transport, petrol, newspapers, magazines purchased regularly,drinks or cinema tickets for some people, cigarettes for smokers, etc. Much less frequently, there may be high-value

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products recently purchased or planned, where the decision to purchase involves a process of mature reflection (a car,for example, household appliances, etc.).

Moreover, even when some prices are memorised in this way, they only very rarely serve as a basis forcomparison and reference in evaluating whether another product of similar value is expensive or not.

6. Conversions into national currency by interviewees differ in their degree of difficulty between one country andanother and sometimes between categories of people:

• Easy in Germany and relatively easy in other countries with a simple or fairly simple conversion rate (rounded):Finland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Portugal and Italy; major errors are rare, and guesses are relatively close to reality;

• Relatively easy in Ireland, but with an often intuitive application of the rate, leading to conversions which are oftenvery approximate;

• Difficult in Austria (where the margins for evaluation are also very broad, and where serious errors occur,particularly among elderly people), the Netherlands (where the application of a multiplication coefficient of 2.20proved more complex than its citizens imagined, and where irritation at the effort required rapidly leads to a loss ofattention giving rise to inaccurate guesses), and Spain (where the use of the mnemonic technique 6 euro = 1000pesetas, rather than a direct conversion, produces results which are correct in terms of scale but also approximate);

• Particularly difficult in Greece (where application of a similar mnemonic technique, 3 euro = 1 000 drachmae,enables interviewees in the middle classes and many people with insecure jobs to arrive at orders of magnitudewhich are only approximate, and many elderly people arrive at incorrect results or even fail in their attempts), andin France, on the mainland as well as the more remote areas (where middle-class people show themselves to becapable in all approximate guesses, but where there are many errors or failures in both of the sensitive populationcategories studied).

Assessment of price differentials is even more delicate and approximate, especially when dealing with low startingprices (despite sometimes having an awareness of the significantly higher value of the euro monetary unit in relation tothat of the national currency, and thus of the risk of overlooking differences which are a priori minimal).

7. The (greater or lesser) difficulties encountered by citizens do not, however, encourage them to imagine measuresto get used to the euro which could be useful or could be extended by the authorities or by other players, except for asmall number of highly vulnerable people in sensitive population categories – where these measures are quasi-personal(and not general information measures).

The usefulness of information and awareness-raising campaigns prior to the introduction of the euro is largelyrecognised after the event, as is that of the aids provided by various players, particularly the converters, widely used inthe initial period of use of the euro, but now limited to verification operations or precautionary measures when the sumsinvolved are significant.

But the citizens interviewed generally find it hard to see how they can be helped with what remains their majorproblem, that of creating a scale of values in euro and acquiring reflexes for evaluating prices without the need toreflect and convert.

Their requests to the authorities relate either to a wish to simplify the range of coins or to measures to combat price riseswhich many have noted or believe they have noted, particularly clearly in a number of Member States.

8. The main negative aspect of the introduction of the euro is without doubt the relatively frequent perception bycitizens of price increases.

• This impression is moderate in Portugal, Belgium, Finland, France and Austria (rather more acute among those ininsecure situations in the latter two countries).

• It is more marked, although often relative, among Spaniards, and middle-class Irish and Luxembourgers – althoughin the latter two countries it is a major concern for those in insecure situations and for elderly people.

• It is extremely strong in all population categories in Italy, Greece, Germany and the Netherlands.

At the same time, few interviewees are in a position to cite precise cases of increases; it seems clear that, while therehave been increases here and there, it is the absence of scales of values in euro which give the feeling of no

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longer being in charge of one's spending, of buying "blind" and of "money flowing faster through one'sfingers" – with official reassurances (publication of indices of price increases) apparently having no effect.

Demands in this regard for price "controls" and sanctions appear to reflect a total lack of understanding of the limitsof action by the authorities in this area in open economies, in those countries with a liberal economic tradition asmuch as in those where there is still a high degree of State intervention.

9. The study also aimed to analyse more general attitudes to the euro and the degree of support for the singlecurrency project, and to assess the extent to which its arrival in the lives of citizens could contribute to thedevelopment of a feeling of belonging to Europe.

Support for the project and understanding of its validity are strong in most euro-zone countries.

• Italy (a proportion of elderly people remained more distant);

• Spain, Portugal and Greece (despite some frustrations at the persistent differential in living standards with the moreeconomically developed Member States, thrown into sharper relief by a common monetary reference – and thenostalgia at the disappearance of the national currency in Greece, particularly among elderly people);

• Ireland (although less in the sensitive categories of the population);

• France (where citizens show a high degree of unanimity);

• Germany (where the hypotheses from our previous studies confirmed the rapid fading of nostalgia for theDeutschmark);

• Austria (in all population categories, with only slight nuances;

• Finland (where attitudes are standardised).

They are not absent in Belgium, but the arrival of the euro appears to be greeted in a straightforward manner, and thepositive attitudes are partially hidden among those in insecure situations by feelings of concern.

They are more widely shared in Luxembourg, where traditionally pro-Community feelings are counterbalanced bysimilar concerns and by a higher level of questioning of the stability of the euro than elsewhere.

They remain extremely weak in the Netherlands, where the euro continues to be regarded as a currency imposed oncitizens and also affected since its birth by the "defect" of participation by the countries of southern Europe in acurrency traditionally regarded as weak and not taken seriously.