COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 
Brussels, 06.02.1998 
COM(1998) 39 final 
COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION 
on the information strategy 
for the euro 

A/ COMMUNICATING I UK KURO : OIMKCTIVKN AND KOI IS. 
The Ijuinch of Economic aiul Monetary Union on I January I1)4)1) and Ihc smoolh 
introduction of Ihc single curopcan currency, Ihc euro, is a primary objective o( I he 
European Union, lis achievmcnl requires effective infonnalion and communication 
actions, as was underlined in the (ircen Paper on the introduction of the euro, adopted by 
the Commission in May 1995. 
As the transition to EMU moves into a decisive phase this year, the Commission has 
prepared this Communication on Communications because it wishes to recall the very 
high priority that needs to be given to this activity. Therefore, it is addressed not only to 
the Member States and the European Parliament but also to regional and local authorities, 
economic actors throughout the private sector and to many other groups whose activities 
will be touched by the arrival of the euro. 
Much of what is said here rellects the lessons of the Commission's experience drawn 
from its information and communications activities on the euro over the past two years. 
1.0 The ( Challenge Ahead. 
When it launched its own communications strategy at the beginning of 1996, together 
with the European Parliament in the context of the Information Programme for the 
Europe Citizen (PRINCE), the Commission's objectives were two-fold : to strengthen 
hytfeT throughout the EU that EMU would be achieved according to the Treaty on 
European Union and to raise awareness among banks, financial services providers and 
large companies of the need to begin early preparations for the changeover to the euro. 
These objective have been achieved through information and communications actions 
developped by the Commission and the European Parliament on the basis of decisions 
taken by Heads of State and governments. 
Assuring a successful transition in the years ahead imposes today more specific 
objectives for communications strategies : 
- explaining the euro to as many citizens as possible so as to promote its acceptance and 
a readiness to use it. This also means explaining the reasons why Europe is moving to 
EMU and what the euro will mean for them; 
- helping every citizen to become familiar with the new currency, to acquire a sense of its 
value and to handle it with ease and confidence. This strategy is made for the general 
public. To achieve this objective, it is also necessary to adress specific targets, for 
example consumers. 
- encouraging small and medium-sized companies throughout all economic sectors to 
begin their preparations. This means helping them to understand the advantages of a 
serious preparation and the penalties of arriving late at the date of final transition, 1 
January 2002. 
- ensuring that there is a good understanding of EMU among political, administrative and 
business actors in third countries. 
1.1 ( 'ommuiiications responsibilities are widely shared. 
These are ambitious objectives. The effort will require pursuing well conceived, 
sustained and adequately funded information actions over several years and at all levels, 
from European to local. Communications strategies must not only deliver concrete 
information in an accessible form, but also aim to explain the consequences of the 
introduction of the euro for each citizen. The greater the support among citizens, the 
easier the political and practical transition to the euro. 
Preparing the population in general for the euro is not just a task for public authorities: 
• information relays and multipliers - trade and professional associations, European 
federations, consumers associations and a multitude of public bodies - are vital 
sources of practical information. They need to be encouraged and supported in their 
actions; 
• companies must tell their employees, their shareholders, their suppliers and their 
customers about when, how and for what purposes they will use the euro during the 
transition to the introduction of euro notes and coins, the I January 2002. They will 
also have to explain the impact of the euro on their business, and on matters of key 
concern to employees such as wages and pensions; 
• banks must tell their customers how they may transact in euro during the transition 
period from I January 1999 and help to familiarise them with euro values; 
• retailers, large and small, have a fundamental interest in helping the consumer to 
become familiar with the euro, to learn its values and to use it with ease; 
• providers of financial services such as insurance and pensions must explain the 
impact of the euro on their products. 
2.0 The Communications Challenge : Roles and Responsibilities. 
2.1 A central role is incumbent upon Member States. 
To be credible and effective, communication actions must be shaped by the culture, 
language and concerns of the citizen. Information will best be provided from sources 
which arc close to the citizen and regarded both as authoritative and reliable. This means 
focusing the communications responsibility firmly on the Member States who must not 
only create information tools and products, but also encourage regional and local 
authorities, publicly owned utilities and networks of civil organisations (NGOs) such as 
trade unions, professional organisations and consumers associations to act as vehicles and 
channels for information on the euro. 
Most Member States, in cooperation with the European Union, have launched 
implementing national information actions on the euro. A meeting in Brussels organised 
by tlu' Commission on October W 1097 of directors of information on the euro in 
national administrations revealed a rich variety of initiatives from Member Slates. 
2.2 Partnerships with the European Institutions ensure coherence. 
Since 1996, the EU institutions and several Member Slates run a close collaboration in 
developing information activities on the euro. In 1998, ten such partnerships are likely to 
be established on the basis of tripartite memorandums of understanding between the 
Member State, the Commission, and the European Parliament. These are supported by 
conventions which provide for EU funding for communications actions in Member States 
who so wish. A tripartite management group, composed of the Member State, the 
Commission and the European Parliament, ensures coordination of these activities. 
Altogether two thirds of the funds allocated by the EU budget for information actions on 
the euro in 1998 will be committed to these partnerships. Their advantages are : 
- they ensure that communications actions are coherent and appropriate for each Member 
Stale; 
- Ihey avoid excessively overlapping and repetitive initiatives by the Member States and 
the EU institutions; 
- they enable the general public to perceive that national actions are placed in a European 
context. 
2.3 The Role of the Commission : to supply information, to stimulate, to coordinate. 
The Commission has acquired considerable experience of informing and communicating 
on the euro, and the fruits of this experience will be put at the service of the Member 
States. In the next four years the Commission, in close association with the European 
Parliament, can: 
• make available to Member States and others needing to communicate on the euro a 
considerable variety of information instruments. These include technical reports, 
question and answer texts for the general public, videos, pictorial presentations of 
euro notes and coins etc; 
• stimulate and encourage communications actions by Member Stales and non 
governmental organisations; 
• ensure coherence in the information and messages being given on the euro across the 
Union; 
• organise and support transnational communications initiatives. Purely national 
projects will be examined and funded at the national level; 
• organise information activities in third countries. 
B/ A PRACTICAL APPROACH TO COMMUNICATION ACTIONS. 
3.0 A basis of achievement upon which to build. 
The Commission's communication efforts over the past two years have recieved a large 
echo. They have : 
• helped to inform major currency users that EMU would be launched on 1 January 
1999; 
• contributed to a growing awareness among financial organisations and large 
companies on the importance of preparing early and preparing well. Polls show that 
this work has been launched by more than 50% of organisations in these sectors; 
• involved a large number of organisations by means of Round Tables and expert 
groups in researching and debating technical issues such as dual display of prices, 
bank charges, the legal status of the euro and a variety of accounting issues. These 
efforts have helped to promote consensus approaches among interested parties; 
• stimulated and encouraged a very wide range of civil organisations - representative 
organisations, trade unions...- to mount their own information activities on the euro. 
This is a very useful base upon which the Community institutions, the Member States 
and many active groups in civil society can build. 
3.1 The importance of the EMU timetable for communications strategies. 
Key deadlines have been fixed by the Treaty and by the European Council of Madrid in 
December 1995. Communications strategies need to be specially focused on three 
particular dates : 
• 2-3 May 1998. This is when the Council, meeting at the Heads of State and 
Government level will designate the Member States that are qualified to be part of the 
Economic and Monetary Union from 1 January 1999. Bilateral exchange rates 
between participating currencies will also be announced. Media attention to liMU will 
reach a new peak and as a result the general public will be more fully aware of the 
imminence and irreversibility of the transition to the euro. There is bound to be a 
qualitative and quantitative leap in the demand for information for which all providers, 
public and private, must be prepared, in the pre-ins as well as in the euro zone. 
• 1 January 1999. The date when the euro becomes the single currency for the 
participating member states and when the rates of conversion between their currencies 
and euro the are permanently fixed. Citizens, particularly those in the euro zone, will 
need help in understanding the unfamiliar territory in which they find themselves, 
without euro cash but with financial markets and various economic actors operating in 
euro, a European Central Bank fixing monetary policy and, even, the progressive 
appearance of dual labelling of prices in some commercial places in some countries. 
• I January 2002. The dale of introduction of euro notes and coins. Intensive 
communications efforts should long well before this date to enable the citizen to 
handle the new money with case and confidence. 
4.0 Target audiences. 
4.1 The general public. 
• Obviously public information actions must acquire a new intensity and breadth in 
1998 which cannot be relaxed before the beginning of 2002. They must also become 
more differentiated through time, responding to the changing needs of particular 
segments of the general public. 
Initially, the task will be one of explaining the changeover scenario to remove what 
will be an inevitable confusion in many peoples' minds caused by the arrival of the 
scriptural currency some three years before its "natural" expression in notes and coins. 
This means explaining how the euro can be used by the citizen during the transition 
period. 
The entire transition period will be crucial for preparing the citizen for the 
introduction of euro notes and coins and the withdrawal of national currencies. The 
challenge facing not only governments but also every economic actor serving the 
consumer is an important and difficult one : people have to learn the value of the new 
money and eventually relate this value to key issues in their lives, from the prices of 
food and consumer items to their wages and pensions. Initially and for a long time 
they will be constantly converting amounts from their national currency into euro. The 
ultimate objective has to be to familiarise all citizens with the new scale of values to 
the extent that conversion is no longer necessary. 
Realistically, however, it will be difficult to establish this level of competence 
throughout the population in a mere 24 months. But the more skilful and determined 
the effort, the easier the transition for the majority of the population. 
• Certain groups of the general public merit particular attention : 
Consumer protection will need to be ensured by specific communication actions. With 
this in mind, the round table organised by the Commission the 26 February 1998 will 
examine the possibility of creating local "obervalories" responsible for monitoring the 
impact of national communication actions on the euro. 
In addition, information will need to be adapted to particular needs of different groups 
of the population, including vulnerable groups (old-aged, handicapped, illiterate 
people), the young (in particular through the education system), or women. 
4.2 Small and medium-sized enterprises. 
Many SMEs are bound to be late and slow in preparing their changeover. The danger is 
that they could be so late and so slow as to disrupt the activities of the large firms that are 
their customers. Early, consistent and determined communications efforts are needed: 
• to raise awareness of the basic tasks that have to be done - changing IT systems, 
accounting, invoicing, marketing etc. 
• to ensure that materials of all kinds are readily available to help SMEs cope with the 
technicalities of the changeover. 
• to encourage them to look for strategic advantage in the euro, possibly by means of 
new products and new markets. 
Governments, banks and professional organisations will carry the main responsibilities 
for actions directed at SMEs. But large companies must also play an important part - in 
many cases their own commercial well-being will depend on the capacity of their SME 
suppliers to handle the new euro environment. 
For its part, the Commission will maintain partnerships it has already forged with 
organisations that act as important channels of information to SMEs. 
4.3 Local and regional administrations, elected officials and officials in public 
administrations. 
• Preparations for the changeover by national administrations are considerably more 
advanced than those that are local and decentralised. This is worrying because regional 
and local authorities have closer and more regular contact with the citizen. Now that 
national public administrations have published their changeover plans, local entities 
and elected officials have a framework in which to make their own plans. But they 
will have specific information and communications needs that will have to be satisfied 
by national authorities. 
Training schemes will be particularly important for those officials in direct contact 
with the public. The Commission is ready to help Member States prepare the 
necessary information and training tools. 
• In addition, European institution's employees must display an exemplary competence 
in EMU subject matter both in their dealings with officials in national administrations 
and in their contacts with the private sector. The obligation to be able to explain EMU 
and its benefits is even greater for those in direct contact with the public. 
The Commission has devised an information plan for its own personnel and will 
propose extending it to other European institutions. 
4.4 Third Countries. 
The euro looks set to emerge as an important reserve currency and instrument for 
international commercial transactions. Now that the strength of the political will to 
achieve EMU is being more widely understood in the world, there is a growing demand 
for information about it. A communications initiative in third countries, will, therefore, 
be essential. Priority should be given candidate countries for EU membership and 
Mediterranean partners and to those countries with special commercial relations with the 
EU (such as association agreements) and to others which are potentially important 
markets for the Union (in particular United-States and Japan). 
At the same time, the information needs of EU nationals resident in these countries 
should be kept clearly in mind. They are likely to be asked many questions about EMU 
and should be enabled to respond. 
5.0 Measuring the impact and effectiveness of information actions. 
Communications strategies on the euro must need to be flexible and adaptable to 
changing needs - the type of information required will not be constant and nor will be the 
particular groups or entities thai will have to be addressed. The effectiveness of any 
strategy needs to be regularly evaluated so that any weaknesses can be identified and 
corrected throughout the process until its conclusion. 
** 
The creation of" the euro is a priority for the European Union. This central objective for 
the Commission can only be achieved through effective information and communication 
actions. 1998 marks the start of a decisive phase for the achievment of Economic and 
Monetary Union and is consequently also a crucial satge in the communication campaign 
on the euro. The action of the Commission and of the European Parliament must 
therefore change both in terms of scale and by focusing on the general public. The 
objective should be to help citizens understand the reasons that Europe is progressing 
towards EMU and to raise awareness of the new currency to allow them to use it 
comfortably and with confidence. With this in mind, the European Union's information 
campaign, implemented in partnership with the Member States, must be in a position to 
meet a challenge which affects each curopean citizen directly. It is vital for the sucess of 
this historic project. 
ANNEX I 
IWTAILSOI^ 
(TARGETS, METHODS, ETC.) ANNEX I 
IWTAILSOl^ 
(TARGETS, METHODS, ETC.) 
9 
TABLE OP CONTENTS 
1. TlIK IMI'OKI AN( KOI< < OMMHINK ATIOIN I OK TlIK SIK ( 'KSS 
OK TlIK IN'I RODUCHON OK TlIK KURO 
2. TlIK A( IIIKVKMKINTS 
2.1 Much work in the field of communication has already hccn done 
by the national and European public authorities and by various 
socio-economic groups 
2.1.1 The European Parliament 
2.1.2 The Commission 
2.1.3 The Me m her States 
2.1.4 I he action of the information providers 
2.2 The first stage in the information and communication campaigns 
has already borne fruit 
2.2.1 A number of objectives set by the ( 'ommission have already 
been attained 
2.2.2 Some lessons learnt from experience 
3. THE TIME-FRAME FOR INFORMATION AND 
COMMUNICATION ACTIVITIES 
3.1 From May 1998 to January 1999 
3.2 The twelve months preceding the introduction of 
euro notes and coins 
4. THE EURO INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS 
STRATEGY 
4.1 The general principles and the roles of the contributors 
4.1.1 Subsidiarity and partnership 
4.1.1.1 The principal role of the Member Slates 
4.1.1.2 The European Parliament 
4.1.1.3 The role of the Commission 
4.1.1.4 The role of industry and commerce 
4.1.1.5 The role of the information intermediaries 
4.1.2 Decentralisation and proximity 
4.2 Priority target groups 
4.2.1 The general public 
4.2.2 The need for a special effort towards SMEs (particularly in 
the retail and craft sectors) 
4.2.3 Local and regional authorities, elected representatives 
and national and local officials 
4.2.4 EU officials and other staff 
4.2.5 'The need to open up the communication and information 
campaign to non-member countries 
10 
4.3 The message to be put across 
4.3.1 Importance of practical information 
4.3.2 Dissemination of specific messages for the "pre-ins " . 
4.3.3 ( Iauging public opinion and assessing the impact 
of the campaign 
5. INSTRUMENTS AND MEDIA TO BE USED IN THE 
COMMUNICATION STRATEGY 
5.1 Radio and television 
5.2 Brochures 
5.3 The Internet, CD-ROMs and diskettes 
5.4 Answering services 
5.5 Conferences and seminars 
5.6 Communicating at grass-roots level 
5.7 Pilot projects aimed at the vulnerable sections of society 
6. CONCLUSIONS 
11 
The purpose of this document is to promote or heighten awareness of the importance of 
information and communication in the process of introducing the euro. It takes stock of 
the measures already carried out so as to learn the lessons for future activities: 
time-frame, priority targets, message content, methods to be used, etc. It presents the 
blueprint for the strategy lo be implemented, and spells out the respective roles of the 
European institutions, the Member Slates and industry and commerce in the process. 
1. THE IMPORTANCE OK COMMUNICATION KOR THK SUCCKSS OK IIIK 
INTRODUCTION OK THE KURO 
Money is involved in a very large number of acts of everyday life. It goes to the heart of 
I he workings of the economy. Il is also a vehicle for values and ideals. The successful 
introduction of a single currency for Europe therefore depends on work in two main areas 
of activity: 
• technical preparations guaranteeing the smooth distribution of the euro throughout all 
the workings of the economy; 
• preparing all citizens to understand, accept and use the euro. 
Information and communication activities regarding the euro form an integral part .of 
these two areas and must help them to succeed. The Commission Green Paper of 
31 May 1995 on the practical arrangements for the introduction of the single currency 
already set out the two main tasks of a euro communication strategy, which are still 
relevant today: 
• to stimulate and encourage the preparations necessary in all sectors of the economy; 
• to win the public's support for the single currency. 
The introduction of the euro cannot be merely equated with the introduction of a set of 
technical rules. To an extent which varies according to the Member State or the 
individual, the currency is a vehicle for values and ideals: preparation of the business 
community and the general public for its introduction must deal with more than just the 
practical arrangements. 
The communication and information activities must take account of public opinion polls, 
and of the public's misgivings and concerns. Citizens must be able to count on clear, 
complete and accessible information which provides all the answers to their questions 
and enables them to prepare for the single currency. This is the key aim of the 
communication effort initiated by the European Union and the Member Stales. 
There are various ways of presenting and explaining the euro to European citizens; they 
vary with national cultures and practices. Such approaches call for a great deal of 
caution, in that the evocation of the currency may give rise to emotional reactions. For 
example, some Member States have put the emphasis on the link between the euro and 
Europe, presenting the euro as part of the common heritage of Europeans, as making for 
stability in Europe, or as an instrument for preserving the European economic, social and 
cultural model. In the same way information on the euro will often lead to the provision 
of additional information on the European Union itself. 
12 
2. THE ACHIEVEMENTS 
2.1 Much work in the field of communication has already been done by the 
national and European public authorities and by various socio-economic 
groups. 
This work has emanated from the European Parliament, the Commission, the 
Member States and particularly dynamic communicators (banks, chambers of commerce 
or trade, business federations and professional associations, etc.). 
2.1.1 The European Parliament 
From the start of initiatives to launch euro communication activities, the European 
Parliament has endeavoured to provide the necessary impetus to promote an iniormation 
strategy which meets the needs of citizens. The bodies within Parliament take part in 
defining the guidelines for this strategy and in monitoring its achievements. It is a 
partner of the Member States and the Commission in all the countries which have chosen 
to develop euro communication plans in conjunction with the European Union. 
2.1.2. The Commission 
The Commission has built its communication work around three key guiding principles: 
subsidiarity, partnership and progressiveness. Following the May 1995 (ircen Paper on 
the practical arrangements for the introduction of the single currency, it launched, in 
cooperation with the European Parliament, the priority campaign "the euro, one currency 
for Europe", an element in the PRINCE programme (information programme for the 
European citizen). As far back as 1996, it embarked on awareness raising and 
communication activities for the information providers. In the last two years, almost fifty 
million ecu, representing three-quarters of the appropriations allocated by the 
Commission to the priority information activities, have already been devoted to this. 
This initial intensive effort has taken on a number of aspects, in particular: 
the constitution of all the fundamental basic elements of the communication on the 
euro (assembly of the reference documentation, logo, euro symbol, wide distribution 
of the designs of euro notes and coins, etc.); 
- the production and introduction of communication tools: ("inf €uro", newsletter, 
"Group €uro", iconography, video, the euro area on the Europa Internet site, the 
QUEST interactive data base in eleven languages, exhibitions, a partnership with the 
communicators and multipliers, etc.); 
2.1.3 The Member States 
These information activities by the Commission have, through a leverage effect, 
encouraged the Member States to embark progressively on information and 
communication activities. Several have even already launched large-scale government 
communication activities involving television and the mass distribution of information 
13 
material. Ircephones and special Interne! sites dedicated to the euro have been set up in 
several countries. 
The Commission, in its role as coordinator, took the initiative of organising a meeting in 
Brussels of the heads of national information services responsible for communication on 
the euro. This initiative revealed the huge wealth of measures in the communication 
Held. The effort nevertheless still varies significantly in intensity depending on the 
Member States. As well as the linguistic aspects, these initiatives vary widely, 
depending on the Member States and the general attitude of their public to the euro. For 
most of them, this action stems from a partnership with the European Commission and 
the European Parliament. 
2.1.4 The action of the information providers 
Many information providers, in more direct contact with the general public, have already 
been involved in passing on information on the euro with the help of specific material: 
this action is directed towards targeted sectors of the public, or towards the public at 
large. 
The action of the financial institutions and the banks deserves a special mention: many 
banks have already circulated extremely detailed information booklets on the 
introduction of the euro to their customers. These documents inform them of the major 
institutional stages of the process of economic and monetary union and deal with 
questions relating to savings and to financial products once the euro is introduced. The 
banks have also organised conferences which, at local level, attract a wide public 
consisting of both small businessmen and private individuals. 
The major European business federations are another important multiplier: they have 
distributed a wealth of very detailed information to their members, which has, for 
example, included the issue of very useful guides for SMEs. The Commission has 
helped to fund many of these initiatives at both national and regional level in all the 
Member States. It has also supported the action of the Euro-Inib-Centres which in 1997 
carried out awareness raising and information activities on the euro for SMEs (5 300 000 
contacts). 
2.2 This first stage in the information and communication campaigns has already 
borne fruit 
2.2.1 A number of objectives have already been attained. 
The major economic operators are now convinced that the euro is sure to be introduced 
on 1 January 1999 and that the process of monetary union is irreversible. 
This applies to the key intermediaries involved in the use of the euro: the financial 
institutions, the administrations and a good many large enterprises have introduced 
suitable structures and have made the necessary investment. They also represent valuable 
and efficient information providers for their customers and for users. 
14 
Eastîy, the euro is now identifiable in the form of notes and coins and has been given a 
monetary symbol: € 
2.2.2. Some lessons learnt from experience 
The experience acquired during this first phase of launching communication activities for 
the euro provides useful pointers to the action of each communicator for the years ahead. 
For example, the Community institutions possess most of the "source" information on 
the general framework for the introduction of the single currency and its different sectoral 
dimensions. I lence they can make available all these items of information, and reference 
material or analysis on precise and technical subjects relating to the euro. Since they are 
in touch with all the players, public and professional, throughout the European Union, 
they are familiar with the activities, experiences or even innovations produced here and 
there and can circulate them among the players with a view to broadening each one's 
scope for action. 
The Member States have a large number of communicators on their territories, and so are 
in a better position to disseminate information to the general public and to tailor the 
content to the specific national culture. In the same way, the Member Slates can adapt 
the information to take account of the specific characteristics of their plans for changing 
over to the euro. 
It is clear that the public authorities will be unable, by themselves, to respond to all the 
requests for information on the single currency: institutional activities depend on the 
support of efforts by enterprises, banks and financial institutions in direct contact with the 
public. Many of them have already realised that it is in their interests to provide their 
staff, customers and suppliers with information about the euro. 
It is also undoubtedly useful to encourage the spontaneous initiatives emanating from 
society at large. 
The public is displaying mounting curiosity with regard to the euro. On the whole it no 
longer doubts that it will be introduced. The world of business and the general public, 
elected representatives and civil servants - all are now feeling the need for specific and 
very practical information on the euro. This information must allay everyone's concerns 
and be directly relevant to daily life. 
Information and communication activities on the euro have now been under way for 
two years, taking a wide variety of forms (conferences, exhibitions, Internet sites, 
brochures, adoption of the euro symbol, etc.), and involving either the Commission 
or the Member States or information multipliers. 
These activities have already borne fruit: 
II the certainty of the changeover to the euro on 1 January 1999 and the 
irreversibility of the process leading to monetary union arc now 
acknowledged; 
15 
I I the key players who will lead the way in using the euro, namely 
financial institutions, large funis and administrations, have begun the 
necessary preparations in order to be ready to use the euro from 
I January 1999; 
I I the euro now has an image (notes, coins and symbol). 
Assessment of the results of these activities provides useful pointers for determining 
the approach to be taken by the communication strategy for the euro in the years 
ahead: importance of subsidiarity, of information multipliers and of practical 
information at grass-roots level. 
3. TllE TIME-FRAME FOR INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION ACTIVITIES 
The environment and the major institutional deadlines set by the Treaty and the scenario 
adopted by the Madrid European Council in December 1995 in practice provide a 
structure for euro information and communication activities. The euro communication 
strategy should be built around several crucial periods: 
3.1 From May 1998 to January 1999 
This period is organised around two key dates: 
• 2 May 1998, the date on which the Council, meeting at the level of I leads of State or 
Government, designates the Member States qualified to adopt the euro on 
1 January 1999, will constitute an exceptional historic and media event. It will create 
a favourable "shock" for the general public: as a result of the very broad media 
coverage expected for this event, this is the date on which the general public will 
become fully aware of the imminence and the irreversibility of the introduction of the 
euro. This event will in its turn create a very heavy demand for information which the 
Member States, the Community institutions, but also the major "intermediaries" 
between the public and the currency (financial institutions, markets, etc.) and the local 
and regional authorities must be ready to satisfy. 
• I January 1999, the date on which the euro appears and the conversion rates between 
the euro and the national monetary units are irrevocably fixed, is the turning point for 
the achievement of economic and monetary union. 
These two institutional focal points, which will receive a great deal of media attention, 
will arouse on the part of the general public and the business community a curiosity for 
the euro which must not be disappointed. This is even greater justification for the launch, 
in all the Member States where this has not yet been done, of "general public" 
communication activities. 
By 2 May 1998, decisions will have been taken on the last practical details of the 
introduction of the euro (length of the period during which euro notes and coins and 
national monetary units will circulate alongside each other, dual display of prices, 
conversion costs during the transitional period from 1999 to 2002, etc.). It will therefore 
be possible to provide precise answers to the questions of the general public and of 
16 
business A Round fable on these aspects will also be organised in Brussels on 26 
February I9«>K. 
The Commission will complete the process of making all the basic texts and reference 
texts on the euro, which by then will have been finalised, available to the public. The 
public will thus have direct access to complete information, in both electronic form and 
on paper. The information intermediaries, which are in contact with the public, will thus 
be able to provide the appropriate answers to the questions they are asked. 
Throughout the period special attention will have to be paid to business and more 
particularly SMEs since some of them will already have decided to switch to the euro. 
They themselves will act as examples for the general public. 
3.2 The end of the transitional period 
The'transitional period (1999 to 2001) will enable everyone to familiarise himself with 
the introduction of the euro. The year 2001 itself will be the setting for a second wave of 
major coverage, in order to enable the general public and business throughout the Union 
to prepare for the arrival of euro notes and coins and the complete disappearance of the 
national currencies. 
Communication activities to prepare for. I January 2002 must enable the general public 
and everyone involved in economic life to familiarise themselves with the practical 
effects of the tangible introduction of euro notes and coins. Several stages can be 
envisaged: first, a period during which everyone will learn to convert into euros the 
values expressed in national monetary units; a second stage can be devoted more 
especially to getting a feel for a scale of values in euros, as a result of which everyone 
should be able to recognise the relative values of goods and services in the new currency 
without having to convert them into national monetary units. This is the period during 
which intensive communication activities must be carried out on the ground lor the 
benefit of certain groups among the public which require special attention, such as the 
elderly, those suffering from various forms of handicap, illiterate persons, etc.). 
The transitional period from 1999 to 2001 should he used to shift the information 
effort into a higher gear at a time when the public and everyone involved in 
economic activity, in particular businesses, will be showing a great deal of interest 
in the euro, and will be highly receptive as a result of the institutional environment. 
A second wave of major coverage should be planned for 2001, just before euro notes 
and coins are actually introduced and national currencies withdrawn. 
4. THE EURO INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION STRATEGY 
4.1 The general principles and the roles of the contributors 
4.1.1 Subsidiarily and partnership 
4.1.1.1 The principal role of the Member States 
17 
The Member States play a pivotal role in the communication strategy directed towards 
their citizens and businesses. This stems very directly from the principle of subsidiarily: 
because of Ihc special cultural or linguistic features and sensitivity with regard to the 
currency, an approach which is tailored to the different national situations is essential to 
the success of the operation. 
Arrangements which can cope with the considerable challenge of a process directly 
affecting all citizens are gradually being introduced. These arrangements include 
measures taken by the public authorities and, as far as possible, take into account the 
needs and the own initiatives of the regions, associations and intermediaries, large public 
and private enterprises, professional associations and trade unions, etc., in order to 
disseminate a coherent message on the euro. 
Against this background, the Community institutions have offered the Member States an 
original partnership formula to accompany this movement, including: 
the conclusion of tripartite memoranda of understanding between the Member State 
concerned, the Commission and the European Parliament; 
the establishment of agreements for part-financing of specific communication plans; 
coordination between the parlies and the creation of a unit at national level to 
implement coordination. 
In 1998 agreements will have been concluded in ten of the fifteen Member States. They 
constitute the natural instrument under which the Union provides financial assistance for 
nationally-initiated communication activities on the euro. These agreements are a priority 
for the Community: they account for two-thirds of the priority action budget "the euro, a 
currency for Europe". This process ensures that communication will be tailored to each 
Member State, while ensuring overall consistency, in particular in relation to the strategic 
guidelines. 
In addition to the specific measures planned by each government, these agreements will 
in particular have to comprise: 
a "general public" component, to respond to the requests coming from the public at large 
in each Member State; 
and, where needed, an audiovisual/radio component, to finance media activities essential 
for raising the awareness of the entire population. 
4.1.1.2 The European Parliament 
The European Parliament is the Community institution which represents all citizens. By 
this token it plays an important part as regards the euro information strategy, in the 
definition of which it takes part. Parliamentary bodies have been and will be associated 
with developments in the communication effort and in partnerships with the Member 
States. The members of the European Parliament are called upon to play an active part in 
the events and initiatives developed under this effort in each Member State. 
4.1.1.3 The role of the Commission 
The Commission is organising itself to make its expertise available to all the 
intermediaries who need it, and provide, for their communication and information 
activities, technical information on the single currency including technical reports, 
communications, questions/answers and briefing points. These messages and other 
contributions will then be adapted and used by the intermediaries. Wherever appropriate, 
the Commission should attend the conferences and events organised on the euro. 
The Commission intends to provide stimulation and encouragement for communication 
on the euro. This depends on managing the agreements with the Member States, and 
taking part in the associated activities and monitoring them. 
Thirdly, the Commission should ensure that the messages put out about the euro are 
consistent throughout the Union. This justifies its participation in the coordination units 
set up under the national agreements in all the Member States. Similarly the meetings of 
the heads of information departments of the Member States will enable each national 
head to compare the contents of his own euro communication programme directly with 
those of the other Member Slates and the facilitate the exchange of national "best 
practice". 
Eastly, the Commission has a key role to play in organising and providing practical 
support for cross-border activities as well as activities intended for non-member 
countries. The latter can be carried out either directly under existing Community 
instruments, or by the initiatives of Commission delegations and press and information 
services in non-member countries, in conjunction with the embassies of the 
Member States. The stall'of these representations (Commission and Member Slates) will 
have to receive special training ;ind information for this purpose. Embassies and 
consulates will also play a crucial direct role in informing Europeans resident in 
non-member countries. 
4.1.1.4 The role of industry and commerce 
Industrial and commercial firms, public or private, small businesses and retailers are at 
the heart of economic activity. Where the changeover to the single currency is 
concerned, they are key players in passing on information to the public. This will take 
different forms: 
• the large account managers (public or private services responsible for the distribution 
of energy, water or telecommunications, etc.) will play a key educational role for all 
consumers by providing reference points for the scale of values at a very early stage, 
by issuing euro invoices; 
© the large firms which will switch to the euro early on should prepare and help their 
subcontractors (often SMEs) to follow them; 
• retailers in daily contact with the general public will inform and guide consumers 
when they make their everyday purchases in euro. 
19 
Tourism is a particularly interesting sector for the introduction of the euro. Businesses 
operating in this area can very usefully contribute to the information on the practical and 
specific aspects of the euro. 
4.1.1.5 The role of the information intermediaries 
The use of communicators, in the form of professional associations, business federations, 
public and semi-public national organisations and local and regional authorities, the 
Euro-Info-Centres and all the other Community networks, means that communication can 
be precisely tailored to particular targets. 
It is therefore important to encourage them and to support them in their activity of 
communicator concerning the euro, in particular by providing them with information that 
they can adapt and use for their own purposes. 
National projects should be appraised directly by the Member Slates and by the national 
authorities. I heir costs will have to be borne at national level, either by the government 
itself or by other specific bodies, either in regard to the use of decentralised Community 
funds under agreements or as a last resort by the Commission Offices to the extent that 
budget resources are available for this use. The Commission will not finance projects on 
a European scale where their relevance is purely national, with the exception of unusually 
innovative or symbolic projects. 
4.1.2 Decentralisation and proximity 
It is important for European citizens to find information at grass-roots level; they should 
be enabled to do so by highly decentralised local communication activities. All the 
networks available in the Member States (local offices of public departments, branches of 
financial institutions, decentralised offices of certain firms, large account managers, etc.) 
must be mobilised to contribute. 
The operation of partnership at national level under tripartite units comprising a 
representative of the Member State concerned, of the Commission and of the European 
Parliament, will assist in tailoring information to local demand. 
This objective is facilitated by the communication medium used: the new technologies 
(freephones, Internet, etc.) make it easier to disseminate information at a local level, and 
to promote the activities on the ground (travelling exhibitions, information buses, or 
even, as far as permitted by budget constraints, contributions to sports or cultural events 
reaching large sections of the general public) already organised by certain 
Member States. 
Communication on the euro must be guided by the principle of subsidiarity and 
managed under a partnership: 
• partnership with the Member States, which makes it possible to devise a message 
and instruments that are tailored to national cultures and structures; 
j® partnership with information multipliers which distribute targeted information. 
! It is up to the latter to distribute practical and specialised information. 
20 
The Commission's action will be organised along the following lines: 
• providing iniormation, basic material and technical support tor multipliers and 
for specialised audiences; 
• taking part in the framing and implementation of national communication plans 
for the euro through partnership based on the conclusion of part-financing 
agreements with the Member States; 
• ensuring that information activities on the euro arc consistent across the 
Community and facilitating contacts and exchanges of information between the 
Member States; 
• encouraging and taking part in cross-border initiatives, and information and 
communication activities on the euro intended for non-member countries. 
Lastly, if all European citizens are to find, in their daily lives, information which is 
in tune with their concerns, it is essential that communication activities should give 
pride of place to decentralised work at grass-roots level. 
4.2 Priority target groups 
The bulk of the information and communication activities carried out so far have been 
targeted at financial operators and administrations, these being the circles most directly 
concerned by technical preparations for the changeover to the euro and also the main 
information multipliers. Many large firms have set the ball rolling, too. All these 
operators are actively engaged in preparations. 
The communication effort must continue and build on these achievements by 
concentrating on a number of priority target groups: 
4.2.1 The general public 
The general public (and all its component groups, such as consumers, wage-earners, 
savers, pensioners, recipients of welfare benefits, women and young people) is hungry for 
information about the changeover process and its consequences, and the success of the 
single currency will ultimately depend on public acceptance. But public enthusiasm for 
the euro cannot be created by a decision from on high: it must be nurtured through 
unstinting efforts to provide information on highly practical aspects of the single 
currency at grass-roots level. 
The initial objective is to make the entire population aware, ahead of 1 January 1999, of 
the impending arrival of the euro, the key dates in the scenario (1 January 1999 and 
1 January 2002) and how the euro will be used during the transitional period (e.g. 
payments, cheques, continuity of contracts, tax matters and relations with administrative 
bodies, particularly those responsible for welfare). 
From the beginning of the transitional period, the education system - and teachers in 
particular - will have a major role to play in informing and communicating with young 
people. Young people will often in practice act as go-betweens with the older 
21 
generations, helping them to familiarise themselves with and embrace the euro. The 
Commission plans shortly to launch an initiative in this area. 
Information will also have to be provided which is tailored to the needs of more specific 
target groups, such as senior citizens, blind and partially sighted persons, illiterate people 
or the poorest sections ol society. The public administrations have a major role to play in 
communicating with these groups of people, notably via trusted intermediaries who are 
suitably trained and possess appropriate information tools. 
4.2.2 The need for a special effort towards SMEs (particularly in the retail' and craft 
sectors) 
Like the general public, small and medium-sized enterprises need to be made aware that 
the euro is coming and to plan ahead for its arrival. Thanks to their structure or size 
(existence of a forward studies or planning unit) or their membership of an industry 
network, some larger firms have become conscious of the arrival of the single currency 
and have been able to set up their own preparatory structures. This is not usually the case 
with SMEs, and even less so micro-businesses, single member companies and craft 
businesses, which still see the euro as a distant prospect. Small businesses should have a 
general grounding in the changeover scenario and how the euro is to be used. 
Over and above this effort, which differs little from the drive to inform all Union citizens, 
SMEs should be urged to embark on technical preparations. A special communication 
effort, which should be stepped up from 1998, should make them realise that the arrival 
of the euro requires them to do some strategic thinking (targets and competitive strategy 
and possibly new markets) and to make preparations well ahead of the 
31 December 2001 deadline. Since SMEs play an essential role in the economy, such 
preparations will constitute one of the keys to the success of economic and monetary 
union. And as SMEs provide over two thirds of total employment in Europe, they can 
exert an important multiplier effect on their employees and customers, fhis applies 
particularly to the retail trade, which is in daily contact with members of the public: 
retailers can contribute directly to informing and reassuring consumers about the 
changeover to the euro and hence to their acceptance of the new currency. 
Banks, the accountancy professions, chambers of commerce and trade associations, 
including Euro Info Centres and other specialised networks, will have a key role to play 
in providing SMEs with general and technical information. Eikewise, large firms will 
have special responsibility towards SMEs among their suppliers and customers. This 
will apply in particular in all subcontracting relationships where the fact that large firms 
have already switched to the euro will prompt them to encourage and assist their 
subcontractors to follow suit. 
Eastly, IT service providers, who will have to respond to the demand from SMEs, should 
be urged to prepare themselves in order to avoid bottlenecks in 2001 and saturation of 
demand which would generate extra costs for user firms. Meetings such as the Euro IT 
forum held in Brussels on 2 October 1997 with IT service providers and their users will 
contribute to that objective. 
22 
The Commission will facilitate and develop relations initialed wilh groups channelling 
information to SMEs and IT service providers. 
4.2.3 Local and regional authorities, elected representatives and national and local 
officials 
Compared with the central administrations, preparations are much less advanced among 
local and regional authorities and elected representatives, although this tier of 
administration is in a privileged position for communicating with the general public and 
will be called upon at an early stage. Publication of the public administration's 
changeover plans in all Member States should, by laying down clearly and irrevocably 
the precise conditions in which the changeover is to take place in each country, facilitate 
preparalions by elected representatives and local and regional authorities, which should 
also be stimulated by means of a specific information and communication effort. 
National civil servants should continue to be covered by targeted information and 
training campaigns on the euro using the administrations' traditional tools. A particularly 
important training effort should be undertaken for all officials who are in direct contact 
with the public. Some Member States have, for example, already prepared training packs 
for instructors on the switch to the euro. Civil servants should, in their own area of 
activity, have access to and be able to provide the information which their partners 
(businesses, associations, members of the public, etc.) need. The same approach should 
be taken towards preparing local officials. 
The Commission will assist the Member Slates in developing the tools necessary for 
achieving this objective. 
4.2.4 EU officials and other staff 
At the heart of the machinery for the changeover lo the euro, European Commission 
officials and other staff should themselves be fully conversant wilh the arrangements for 
introducing the euro and its consequences. This is all the more necessary in the case of 
officials in direct contact with the public, who should be able to explain EMU and its 
beneficial effects to the people they speak lo. 
The Commission is preparing an information plan for its own staff which will use all the 
tools at its disposal (information memos and booklets, the usual in-house communication 
channels and especially its intranet, Europa/?///.v). The Commission will offer to extend 
the programme to cover the other Community institutions. 
The European Commission will undertake a special training and information effort for 
EU officials and other staff. 
4.2.5 The need to open up the communication and information campaign to 
non-member countries 
Through EMU the euro will emerge as the currency of one of the world's main trading 
partners. Now that the credibility of Europe's political determination to create a single 
currency is no longer doubted anywhere in the world, the Commission's delegations in 
non-member countries are noting a marked increase in interest in and demand for 
23 
iniormation on the euro. A communication initiative aimed at the rest of the world is 
Ihcrclore necessary in order lo dispel misunderstandings and give this major event its true 
dimension on the international monetary scene. 
Some Member Slates and the Commission have already launched information campaigns 
outside Europe, chiefly aimed at the major international financial centres (New York, 
Tokyo, Toronto, Chicago, Hong Kong, Singapore, etc.). This work should be continued, 
stepped up and extended to other third-country targets: 
• the applicant countries and the EU's Mediterranean partners; 
• trading partners and businesses in non-member countries with preferential trading 
relations with the Community (e.g. association agreements) and also markets which 
are potentially important for the EU. 
fhis outward-looking campaign should also cover Union citizens living in non-member 
countries, since not only are such people entitled as Europeans to be fully informed about 
the changeover, but they will also personally face in their business or private lives 
questions about the euro which they should be able lo answer properly. 
The Commission will contribute lo the drive lo explain and promote the euro in 
non-member countries, in liaison with the Member Stales. In practical terms, this 
activity can be developed through the routine cooperation that has been established on 
the spot between the Commission's delegations, and particularly its press and 
information services, and the Member States' embassies and consulates. 
Upstream, this action requires systematic briefing and training of diplomatic staff posted 
abroad. 
The general public (including certain specific groups), small and medium-si/ed 
enterprises, local and regional authorities and elected representatives, national 
civil servants and non-member countries should from now on he the main targets 
of information campaigns mounted hy the Commission, the Member States and 
information multipliers. 
4.3 The message to he put across 
The meeting of heads of national information services held in Brussels on 
30 October 1997 showed how difficult it is to devise tools or messages which can have a 
similar positive impact in all Member States. A few common principles can nevertheless 
be identified. 
24 
4.3.1 Importance of practical information 
The euro will gain acceptance among members of the public only if they are given clear 
answers to three basic questions: Why? When? and Mow? Enthusiasm for the single 
currency can be generated only if the public at large understands, learns to use and 
embraces the euro. With that end in view, the information campaign should convey 
practical, precise messages: depiction of the euro in the form of coins and banknotes, 
possibilities for and practical consequences of using the euro in daily life (incomes, 
pensions, savings, contracts, etc.) and development of a "feel" for prices in euros once 
conversion rates have been fixed on 1 January 1999. This information should be useful, 
usable and put lo practical use. 
Information disseminated should also be correct: inaccurate iniormation sometimes 
circulates as a result of unfamiiiarity with the subject. This would create confusion in the 
minds of the public and would be detrimental to the entire changeover process. The 
Commission will ensure that reference material is available lo all information providers 
to enable them lo check the reliability of the information they disseminate. 
Clearly, it will become increasingly simple lo issue practical information as the 
remaining technical arrangements for introducing the euro are established at Community 
and/or national level (dual price displays, conversion costs, duration of the period in 
which national currencies are withdrawn, conditions in which the euro is used in dealings 
with the public administrations, etc.). 
4 3.2 Dissemination of specific messages for the "pre-ins " 
Those Member States which are not on the list of countries in the first wave drawn up by 
the Heads of Slate or Government meeting within the Council in early May 1998 will 
have to contemplate preparing specific messages for their citizens: according lo 
circumstances, these messages could explain the practical consequences of the country's 
non-participation in the euro zone, inform the public about the ground lo be made up 
before they can join the countries in the first wave, and provide information about the 
euro. This is because, quite apart from the choice or possibility of adopting the euro, 
even if a Member State does not form part of the first wave its economic and trading 
links with its partners already in the euro zone will involve its citizens and businesses in 
transactions in euros. If they are not to be placed at a disadvantage, they will have to be 
given factual, practical information about the single currency. 
In any event, the "pre-ins" will constitute a specific group whose information needs 
(nature, volume of the target audience and content of messages on the euro) will differ 
from those of the other Member States. 
4.3.3 (iauging public opinion and assessing the impact of the campaign 
The future information and communication strategy for the euro will have to be 
progressive and adaptable. An effective action plan must be backed up by evaluation 
tools that can provide data for assessing the calibre and impact of the action taken. 
25 
Assessment of the impact of action already taken will enable future action to be 
line-luned and to achieve heller results. 
Past experience has shown how difficult it is to devise tools or messages on the euro 
which can have the same positive impact in all Mem her States. A few b rond 
common principles can nevertheless he identified: 
• the importance of disseminating practical, concrete information; 
• the importance of facilitating acceptance of the euro by the general public; 
• the need to disseminate highly specific messages for the "pre-ins"; 
• the importance of gauging public opinion and assessing the impact of action 
taken. 
5. INSTRUMENTS AND MEDIA TO BE USED IN HIE COMMUNICATION STRATEGY 
5.1 Radio and television 
Radio and television are essential tools in any campaign aimed at the general public. 
These media should form an integral part of all communication plans, and particularly 
those covered by a Community joint-financing agreement. The format of broadcasts and 
advertising spots will of course vary according to the specific features of national 
audiences and the approaches followed by public authorities. 
I he Community could contemplate providing more active support: "Europe by Satellite" 
broadcasts (received by nearly 700 television stations in Europe), organisation of 
interviews, provision of broadcasting studios, pictures, etc. 
5.2 Brochures 
Surveys have demonstrated the public's steady interest in having information in 
hard-copy form (brochures and leaflets). All the Member States which have already 
launched their communication plans intend lo use this medium, distributing brochures 
and leaflets through local intermediaries (town halls, post offices, banks, etc.) and/or 
through inserts in the major national or regional daily and weekly newspapers. Owing to 
the subsidiarity considerations mentioned earlier, the Commission will not produce 
brochures for the general public on a large scale, but it will provide useful raw 
information input for multipliers. It will assist all Member Stales which plan lo publish 
brochures for the general public by providing them with the necessary information and 
materials. 
5.3 The Internet, CD-ROMs and diskettes 
Extensive use will be made of modern methods of communication which enable 
information to be disseminated effectively and often economically. 
A large amount of practical and specialised information will be stored on Internet sites, 
thereby making it widely available. The Quest database in particular, which contains 
answers to a host of practical, concrete questions frequently asked by members of the 
26 
public i\ml also certain specialised use~s, wi!-! also be accessible., noiabiy w\ iÀv; Euro m? 
Iniernei si'e. 
Sites set up by Member States, central banks, the Commission, the European Monekuv 
Institute or private bodies should be interlinked so as to offer users gateways to all the 
information on the euro available in Europe. 
5.4 Answering services 
Member States should be encouraged to set up systems for answering, swiftly and 
personally, questions about the euro asked by members of the public via special 
telephone or fax numbers, the Internet, the Minitel, etc. fhe Commission could help 
provide the necessary information input for services of this kind. 
5.5 Conferences and seminars 
Conferences and seminars are being held in growing numbers and are now focusing on 
technical topics of interest lo specialist audiences. The Commission is contributing to 
these events, of which over I 000 are already being held each year, by sending officials 
to give talks or through speakers belonging to the (iroup€uro. The programmes for 
visits to Brussels also now usually include a module on the euro. 
5.6 Communicating at grass-roots level 
Communicating at grass-rools level is the surest way of entering into direct contact wilh 
members of" the public. Some Member Stales have set slore by this approach and have 
organised travelling exhibitions or "eurobuses" which have proved extremely effective 
communication tools. Member States are encouraged lo stimulate initiatives of this 
nature. In so far as its resources allow, the Commission could lend technical assistance 
to projects of this kind. It will also look into the question of whether euro observatories 
should be set up at local or national level to monitor the transition lo the euro, 
particularly with a view to ensuring that consumers are properly informed, and whether 
such observatories can be integrated into existing Community networks. 
5.7 Pilot projects aimed at specific population groups 
One of the essential features of certain specific population groups (e.g. blind and partially 
sighted persons, illiterate people, the homeless or the poorest sections of society) is 
precisely that it is difficult to communicate with them using the traditional or 
standardised media. These groups too will have to be informed about the euro, and the 
information will consequently have to be distributed through innovative communication 
channels which are tailored to their situation, fhe communication effort towards these 
population groups will involve, among other things, recourse to trusted intermediaries 
who are close lo and familiar with the circles concerned and have access to appropriate 
information tools or channels of communication. fhe Commission will launch 
preparatory work, in liaison with the Member States, on the special approach to be taken 
towards these population groups, with special reference to the messages to be put across, 
the places where communication activities are to be carried out and the form they should 
take. 
27 
All the available media will have to he used actively, with special emphasis on 
radio and television, which are particularly effective tools for mass communication 
with the general public. Preference should also be given to means of 
communicating with the public at grass-roots level. 
6. CONCLUSIONS 
Information and communication activities on the euro have now been under way for 
two years, taking a wide variety of forms (conferences, exhibitions, Internet sites, 
brochures, adoption of the euro symbol, etc.) and involving either the Commission, 
with the support of the European Parliament, or the Member States or information 
multipliers. These activities have already borne fruit: 
• the certainty of the changeover to the euro on 1 January 1999 and the 
irreversibility of the process leading to monetary union are now acknowledged; 
• the key players who will lead the way in using the euro, namely financial 
institutions, large firms and administrations, have begun the necessary 
preparations in order to be ready to use the euro from 1 January 1999. 
Assessment of the results of these activities provides useful pointers for determining 
the approach to be taken by the communication strategy for the euro in the years 
ahead: importance of subsidiarity, of information multipliers and of practical 
information at grass-roots level. 
The period between 2 May 1998 and 1 January 1999 and, thereafter, the period up 
to 2001 should be used to shift the information effort into a higher gear at a time 
when the public will be showing a great deal of interest in the euro and will be 
highly receptive as a result of the institutional environment. A second wave of 
major coverage should be planned for 2001. 
Fhe general public, small and medium-sized enterprises, local and regional 
authorities and elected representatives, national civil servants and non-member 
countries are the main targets towards which the information efforts undertaken by 
the Commission, the Member States and information multipliers should now be 
directed. 
Past experience has shown how difficult it is to devise tools or messages on the euro 
which are suited to the cultural features and background of different audiences in 
all Member States. A few broad common principles can nevertheless be identified: 
• the importance of disseminating practical, concrete information. This could 
involve the provision of training and advice for SMEs by the Euro Info Centres; 
• the importance of contributing to a climate enabling the general public to 
understand and accept the euro; 
• the importance of gauging public opinion and assessing the impact of action 
taken. 
28 
As far as methods are concerned, communication on the euro should be guided by 
the subsidiarity principle and managed through partnership: 
• partnership with the Member States under tripartite agreements between the 
Member State concerned, the Commission and the European Parliament ssnd 
part-financing agreements, which make it possible to develop communication 
plans comprising messages and instruments that arc tailored to national cultures 
and structures; 
• partnership with information multipliers which distribute targeted information. 
The Commission's action will, for its part, be organised along the following lines: 
• providing information, basic material and technical support for multipliers and 
for specialised audiences; 
• taking part in the framing and implementation of national communication plans 
for the euro through partnership based on the conclusion of part-financing 
agreements with the Member States; 
• ensuring that information activities on the euro arc consistent across the 
Community and facilitating contacts and exchanges of information between the 
Member States; 
• encouraging and taking part in cross-border initiatives and information and 
communication activities on the euro intended for non-member countries. 
If all European citizens are to find, in their daily lives, information which is in tune 
with their concerns, it is essential that communication activities should give pride of 
place to decentralised work at grass-roots level. 
Lastly, all the available media should be used actively, with special emphasis on 
radio and television and the Internet, which are particularly effective tools for 
large-scale communication with the general public. 
ANNEX 2 
FINANCIAL STATEMENT 
30 
FINANCIAL STATEMENT 
TITLE OF OPERATION 
Information campaign - The euro, one currency for Kurope : adaptation of the 
information strategy 
BUDGET HEADING INVOLVED 
B3-306: Prince (Information programme for European citizens) - Information 
activities in conneclion with specific policies. 
LEGAL BASIS 
Autonomous Commission decision. 
DESCRIPTION OF OPERATION 
General objectives 
fhe overall objectives of the information strategy for the euro are to prepare 
all citizens for the changeover to Ihe single currency and lo stimulate and 
help economic and financial operators from the public and private sectors lo 
prepare and implement the necessary changeover arrangements. 
Period covered 
The priority information campaign on Ihe euro covers the period 19%-2001. 
fhis communication covers the period 1999-2001 inclusive. 
CLASSIFICATION OF EXPENDITURE 
NCE (non-compulsory expenditure) 
DA (differentiated appropriations) 
TYPE OF EXPENDITURE 
Grants for part-financing in partnership with Member Slates and civil society, and 
service contracts. 
FINANCIAL IMPACT 
31 
Hascd on the experience of the first few years, the main expenditure items are 
the following: 
- Partnership wilh Member States, 
- Information in third countries, 
- Partnership wilh civil society, 
- Meetings, debates, conferences, 
- Information tools, 
- Studies, surveys, 
- Miscellaneous. 
The total cost of the operation for the period 1999 to 2001 is 
LiCU 100 million. 
Prince (ECU million) 
Past and present 
TOTAL 1996 
18.7 1997 
30.8 1998 
30 future 
1999 
38 2000 
32 2001 
30 Total 
100 
Partnerships with Member Stales take high priority. Until 1997 inclusive, the 
rule was 50% part-financing from the 1 European Union budget. In accordance 
wilh the subsidiarity principle, Member States will now have to become 
gradually more involved in the funding of the campaigns, in particular where 
the aim is to reach the general public. This should prompt Member States to 
continue stepping up the resources they dedicate to communication on the 
euro. 
The Community budget should, by maintaining the level of funding reached 
in 1998 (MCI) 21 million), retain the degree of influence necessary to ensure 
that the role, priorities and information instruments of the European 
institutions are taken into account. This situation will, in practice, lead to a 
reduction in the relative share of its involvement in relation to the total funds 
earmarked for communication on the euro by the Member States. 
Information activities in non first-wave Member States and third countries 
will be very limited in 1998, owing to the lack of funds. It will have to 
increase from 1999 onwards, taking into account the fact that, for third 
countries, the requested funding concerns only those countries not already 
covered by a Community programme with an information component. 
Partnership with civil society remains essential for cross-border initiatives 
involving bodies such as European trade associations, as well as the debates, 
meetings and conferences which will accompany BMU. 
32 
The production of information tools is practically halted in 1998 owing to 
lack of funds. In 1999 and beyond, the European institutions will have to 
resume Ihe necessary adaptation ol Ihe basic information material. The same 
applies lo surveys, with even more precise follow-up required in 2001. 
Apart from the partnerships with Member States, information activities 
directly supported by the Commission are, for the most part, cross-border 
initiatives 
FRAUD PREVENTION MEASURES 
All contracts will be awarded following tendering procedures, according to the 
financial Regulation in force. 
Partnerships with the Member States are based on a Memorandum of Understanding 
establishing the framework in which the agrcenients for part-financing of the 
communication plans are signed. 
Grants to civil society will follow the applicable Commission rules. The current 
revision of these rules will be taken into account. 
ELEMENTS OF COST-EFFECTIVENESS ANALYSIS 
Spécifie objectives 
To contribute to a successful transition to the single currency by ensuring the 
availability of the necessary information at the appropriate time and in the 
appropriate places. 
From 1 January 1999, it will be necessary to give priority lo fhe genera! 
public's practical preparation for the changeover, and to provide citizens with 
iniormation and answers tailored lo their activities and needs. 
'fhe action directed towards the economic and financial sectors will also have 
to be supplemented, making sure that it reaches and meets the needs of SMKs. 
To provide public administrations and institutions that are in contact with the 
public at all levels - they have an essential prescriptive role to play in this area 
- with the tools and information necessary for Ihem lo carry out their task of 
explanation. 
The European single currency will have to be explained and understood in the 
rest of the world. 
Target groups 
- The general public (and all its component groups, in particular consumers, 
savers, pensioners, those receiving social benefits, women, young people, 
etc.). Specialised information will also have to be provided which is tailored 
33 
lo Ihe needs of more specillc target groups: Ihe elderly, blind and partially 
sighted people, Ihe illiterate, the very poor, etc; 
- SMEs - in particular micro-enterprises, one-person businesses, tradesmen 
and shopkeepers; 
- regional and local authorities, elected representatives and public servants; 
- third countries, including governmental and non-governmental partners of 
the European Union, as well as European citizens living outside the EU. 
(•rounds for the operation 
In an area as sensitive and essential as monetary union, the reduction of 
uncertainties, the awareness of the key players, the acceptance and support of 
the public at all stages oflhe process are all factors on which the success of 
the changeover to the single currency will largely depend. 
Monitoring and evaluation of the operation 
Monitoring and evaluation oflhe operation is based on permanent instruments 
and external evaluations. 
The Eurobarometer survey, which is conducted regularly, provides indicators 
on public opinion and its evolution concerning the single currency. It should 
be supplemented by more specific surveys, depending on the groups targeted. 
Permanent monitoring and evaluation machinery has been put in place in all 
the Member Slates with which agreements are implemented, fhis machinery 
involves setting up a monitoring group, the production of monthly reports and 
Held evaluation missions. 
Under the partnership with civil society, each grant is the subject of a 
financial and activity report by the beneficiary, which is subsequently 
evaluated. 
ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENDITURE 
Effect on the number of posts 
No additional needs 
Overall financial impact on human resources 
No additional needs 
Increase in other administrative expenditure as a result of the operation 
No additional needs 
34 
ISSN 0254-1475 
COM(98) 39 final 
DOCUMENTS 
EN 09 01 16 
Catalogue number : CB-CO-98-050-EN-C 
ISBN 92-78-3072 
Office lor Official Publications oflhe I European Communities 
L-2985 Luxembourg 
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