A4-0415/97

Resolution on the euro and the consumer

The European Parliament,

- having regard to its opinion of 28 November 1996 on the proposal for a Council Regulation on some provisions relating to the introduction of the euro ((OJ C 380, 16.12.1996, p. 47.)),

- having regard to its opinion of 28 November 1996 on the proposal for a Council Regulation on the introduction of the euro ((OJ C 380, 16.12.1996, p. 50.)),

- having regard to the European Council resolution of 7 July 1997 on the legal framework for the introduction of the euro and in particular the annex thereto ((OJ C 236, 2.8.1997, p. 7.)),

- having regard to Rule 148 of its Rules of Procedure,

- having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs and Industrial Policy (A4-0415/97),

A. whereas the European Council in Madrid in December 1995 reached political agreement on the timetable for the introduction of the euro,

B. whereas following this agreement, the Commission has proposed two Regulations, one of which has been adopted and defines the monetary law for the euro,

C. whereas some Member States have adopted practical provisions for the private sector (transition plans, 'schémas de place¨) and for the public sector,

D. whereas the timetable, the Regulations on monetary law as well as the practical provisions adopted by Member States raise a number of issues of interest for consumers, such as the costs of the transition and legal continuity of contracts,

E. whereas the success of Monetary Union will largely depend upon the preparation of the citizens of participating Member States before the euro is introduced,

F. whereas the implementation of proper training, education and information campaigns and policies should be ensured by the public authorities in the Member States, as well as by the banking, financial and commercial sectors,

G. whereas in implementing training, education and information campaigns connected to the introduction of the euro, account must be taken of the fact that consumer behaviour varies between Member States and that the extent to which consumers will be using the euro in other ways of payment than cash before the notes and coins are introduced may vary between and within Member States,

H. whereas the use of the euro and the conversion from national currencies into euro will be progressive, as the euro is likely to be used in other ways of payment than cash as from 1 January 1999,

I. whereas the extent to which changeover and conversion costs will or will not be passed on to end consumers will depend on the competitive conditions between suppliers in different sectors as well as the elasticity of demand for the product or service in question and whereas the European institutions must therefore do their utmost to ensure that the costs of introducing the euro do not fall on consumers,

J. whereas a large proportion of the population will be affected by the problems connected to the conversion between participating national currency units (N.C.U, non-decimal sub-divisions of the euro), as approx. 100 million people in the European Union travel abroad every year and at least 40 million live on internal EU borders,

K. whereas there is a need for preparation and awareness of the possibilities of fraud and abuses which might be committed in connection with the rounding up of prices and with the introduction of euro notes and coins, and whereas an appropriate monitoring unit should therefore be established,

L. whereas security marks for banknotes must be of the highest standard so that counterfeit notes can be recognized when handled by consumers or used in machines,

1. Recognizes that the transparency of relative prices of goods and services in different Member States that will be the result of the introduction of the euro will facilitate cross-border shopping and distance selling and help reduce prices by increased competition;

2. Stresses the positive effects that conversion to the euro will have for consumers buying or travelling in Europe in terms of the elimination of exchange risks and fluctuations; stresses also the positive effects that the euro could have in accelerating the completion of the single market in financial services;

3. Points to the positive effect that the expected low interest rates will have on consumer credit and mortgages as a result of a sound monetary policy; considers that, following the subsidiarity principle, specific legislation could be introduced in Member States in order to remove the obstacles (taxes, register fees etc.) facing consumers wanting to exchange long-term fixed-rate mortgages or loans for other forms thereby taking advantage of lower interest rates;

4. Notes the fact that 1 January 1999 will mark the beginning of the euro as the single currency; points out that although euro notes and coins only will be introduced at the end of the transition period, the euro will be progressively present in daily life from the very beginning of 1999; stresses therefore the importance of using the transition period to encourage consumers to become accustomed to the euro as a unit of measure in relation to prices and incomes, and indeed as a way of payment (cheques, credit cards etc.); access to the euro should not, however, involve extra costs compared with any other currencies in circulation;

5. Considers that training, education and information on the euro from the start (1 January 1999) is of paramount importance, especially for vulnerable groups such as the illiterate, the elderly and the visually impaired; stresses that the information should not be reduced to publicity-type campaigning, but should be extended to the main aspects of economic life which involve people in the use of money; underlines in this connection the role of the main utility providers (electricity, gas, water, telephone), which should use both the former national currencies and euro in their bills from the start of the transition period; points out that this practice should also be used by public administrations, public lotteries (loto, toto, bets, TV-programmes) and (with a certain degree of flexibility) enterprises as regards the payment of their employees' salaries;

6. Considers it particularly important that representative organizations such as consumer groups, trade unions, organizations of small and medium-sized enterprises, women's organizations and other interest groups should be involved in the euro training, education and information campaigns, and that information should be given to children in schools, at universities and within other training programmes; recognizes the importance of making maximum use of new information technologies in the euro information campaigns, but stresses also the importance of the popular and local press which reaches millions of citizens;

7. Points to the important role that the banking and financial sectors will play in facilitating the transition to the euro from the start of Stage 3; stresses the importance of encouraging customers to use all existing instruments in euro from the outset; therefore calls on the Commission to prepare a proposal for a Regulation prohibiting banks from charging customers for the conversion of either accounts or payments during phases B and C of the reference scenario; urges that information supplied by banks to their clients (operations, account statements etc.) should be expressed both in national currency and euro from the beginning of Stage 3; stresses also the need for banks to play their part in providing information on the new currency and the changeover;

8. With regard to the costs related to the introduction of the euro, stresses the importance of keeping these costs to a minimum; highlights therefore the need for public authorities to monitor the process in an accurate manner so as to acquire, and provide the public with, sufficient information concerning the real extra costs, to guarantee competition among suppliers and to prevent possible abuses in the form of unjustified price increases, or costs not linked specifically to the euro;

9. Notes the importance of ensuring that competition is guaranteed between suppliers for different products, in order to prevent conversion costs from being passed on to end consumers;

10. Highlights the fact that the continuity of existing contracts will be guaranteed by Council Regulation (EC) 1103/97 of 17 June 1997 on some provisions relating to the introduction of the euro ((OJ L 162, 19.6.1997, p. 1.)), but with the possibility of amending contracts by express agreement; considers that standard contracts should be removed from the exemption clause; therefore calls on the Commission to submit a proposal for amending this Regulation in order to prevent clauses in standard contracts sufficing to depart from the principle that the introduction of the euro does not affect the continuity of such contracts;

11. With regard to the sensitive issue of the transaction costs for conversion between participating national currency units, considers that the Commission should ensure, by means of a proposal for a regulation, that during the transitional phase, banknotes and coins are exchanged free of charge between the participating Member States. In the event of such a regulation not being adopted:

- suggests the development of strategies at national level to help reduce such costs;

- points out that a practical way of avoiding conversion costs could be payment by credit-card or cheques labelled in euro;

- stresses that competition must be encouraged in order to minimise these costs;

12. Takes the view that the Commission should ensure, by means of a proposal for a Regulation, that (national currency) banknotes and coins are converted into euro notes and coins free of charge for citizens during phase C;

13. Asks the Commission to explore further the establishment of observatories on the changeover to and evolution of the use of euro at local level, as such bodies could have a considerable influence as regards the provision of information for consumers and price surveillance/dual pricing during this critical phase, and could increase their confidence in the way the introduction of the euro is effected;

14. Calls for the highest possible levels of security in the production of all euro notes in terms of security marks etc. to minimize the risk of counterfeiting;

15. Supports the view of many consumer and trade organizations that the final changeover to euro notes and coins should be made over the shortest possible period of time and certainly within three months in all participating Member States, and in a coordinated way in order to avoid confusion, reduce costs and minimise problems for consumers;

16. Is of the opinion that further consumer protection measures relating to the introduction of the euro need to be taken at EU level in order to ensure that consumers in all Member States have maximum and uniform protection in this area;

17. Takes the view that, in setting the date for the start of phase C in the euro regulation based on Article 109l, care should be taken to ensure that the date of the end of phase B coincides with the start of phase C;

18. Points out that while an information campaign on the euro is vital for consumers, training is also essential for entrepreneurs and their staff, above all in the commercial sector, to enable them to respond to consumer needs;

19. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Commission, the Council, the Council of the European Monetary Institute and the governments and parliaments of the Member States.