MEPs have called for a better communication strategy to explain the benefits of the euro to their fellow citizens, with additional funds slated for new member states, as 47 percent of people in the new countries are unhappy about the euro replacing their national currencies.
The deputies debated a report by Dutch liberal Jules Maaten at the beginning of their Strasbourg session on Monday (4 July), which praises the benefits of the single currency, focusing on its positive impact on price stability, lower transaction costs and interest rates, as well as the boost it gives to trade and travel within the EU.
But the paper also notes the general decline in the popularity of the euro in the 12 eurozone countries themselves, starting off at 68 percent before the changeover, climbing up to 75 percent just afterward and falling back to 66 percent in the first half of 2004.
"Citizens are not silly, they know what the possible benefits and dangers of the single currency are", said Mr Maaten, pointing out that euro is sometimes presented as a scapegoat for all economic problems.
Recent polls from the new member states are even gloomier though, with only 44 percent of their citizens believing that the euro will have positive implications for their countries.
While other member states have been free to decide through parliament or referendum whether to join the monetary union, the newcomers are obliged to do so under the rules of their EU accession treaties.
Euro to be sold as an attractive package
The report argues that Europe’s monetary union should be "promoted" and "sold" to the public as "an attractive package".
But some MEPs were lukewarm about the idea.
According to British eurosceptic MEP John Whittaker, if the information on the euro was objective and neutral, it would not convince people about its benefits.
"The euro has not succeeded in its aim to bind people in ever closer union, nor did it manage to enforce needed structural reforms", he said in a debate on the report, adding that to use €16 million for promoting the eurozone would be "foolish and hypocritical".
The euro and the monetary policies of the European Central Bank have been portrayed as a reason for economic problems in some countries recently, with Italy's Northern League party campaigning for a return to the country's old currency, the lira, in the run up to next year’s parliamentary elections.
Fears of higher prices
The report by Mr Maaten acknowledges that people in new member states will face "somewhat higher inflation" over the medium to long term period, not only because of the euro but also because of the existing price differences compared to the rest of the EU.
The MEP says citizens should be informed of this fact.
But to avoid abuses seen in other eurozone states, there should be dual pricing for at least three months before the euro introduction and a year after, to "reduce people’s fears of euro-induced price rises", and to put pressure on businesses and service providers not to use conversion to the euro as a pretext for price increases.
Several MEPs from the new member states argued that the communication strategy should focus on fears about rising prices, while Slovak MEP Sergej Kozlik noted that "Older citizens might feel some nostalgia for their previous national currencies, but young generations will certainly appreciate it for their life in the EU".
Rushing towards the euro
Six new EU member states have so far joined the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM II), which is seen as a waiting room for the euro.
Estonia, Slovenia and Lithuania joined ERM II last June, followed by Latvia, Malta and Cyprus this April.
They are planning to join the eurozone between 2007 and 2008.
Slovakia is likely to join the club in 2009, while the rest of the Visegrad four group - the Czech republic, Poland and Hungary in line for for 2010 at the earliest, experts say.
By: N. Peter Kramer
