98/287/EC: Commission Recommendation of 23 April 1998 concerning dual display of prices and other monetary amounts
Date: 1998-04-23
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: consumer information, euro, labelling, national currency, selling price, trade regulations

L 130/26

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Official Journal of the European Communities

1. 5. 98

COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION

of 23 April 1998

concerning dual display of prices and other monetary amounts

(98/287/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European
Community, and in particular Article 155 thereof,

1. Whereas according to the draft Council Regulation on
the introduction of the euro (1), the euro will become
the currency of
the participating Member States as
from 1 January 1999; whereas the euro will be substi-
tuted for the national currencies of the participating
Member States at the conversion rates; whereas during
a transitional period the euro will exist in different
denominations; whereas the national currency units
will be sub-units of the euro according to the conver-
sion rates; whereas according to Article 4(3) of Council
Regulation (EC) No 1103/97 (2) of 17 June 1997 on
certain provisions relating to the introduction of the
euro the conversion rates shall be used for conversions
either way between the euro unit and the national
currency units;

2. Whereas the issue of dual display of prices and other
monetary amounts was discussed at the first Round
Table of May 1997 on the practical aspects of the
introduction of the euro; whereas as a follow-up to this
Round Table, expert consultative groups were set up by
the Commission to examine the issues of dual display
and of adjustment to new prices and values in euro;
whereas the reports of these expert consultative groups
have been published (3), and the conclusions, together
with the preliminary conclusions of the Commission
presented in the Commission communication ‘Update
on the practical aspects of the introduction of the euro’
adopted on 11 February 1998 (4); whereas this approach
was discussed at the Round Table of 26 February 1998;

3. Whereas on the basis of

those conclusions

the
Commission is of the view that the use of dual displays
will greatly facilitate the transition to the euro for
consumers, retailers and providers of services, and that
in particular dual displays will be an important instru-
ment of consumer education and protection; whereas

(1) OJ C 236, 2. 8. 1997, p. 8.
(2) OJ L 162, 19. 6. 1997, p. 1.
(3) Report of the expert group on the technical and cost aspects
of dual displays, Euro Paper No 13; report of the expert group
on acceptance of new prices and scales of value in euro, Euro
Paper No 18.

(4) COM(1998) 61 final.

the many
dual displays are nevertheless one of
communication instruments that could be used as part
of an overall communications strategy to facilitate the
switchover to the euro;

4. Whereas the Commission considers that legislation at
Community level on the provision of dual displays
would not be the best way of ensuring that dual
displays respond to the needs of consumers and at the
same time minimise the costs of the transition to the
euro; whereas the Commission has concluded never-
theless that where dual displays are provided, ad-
herence to a standard of good practice would improve
certainty and clarity for all parties concerned; whereas
this standard of good practice should cover the fol-
lowing: clear indication by retailers on whether they
are prepared to accept payment in the euro unit during
the transitional period; a clear distinction between, on
the one hand, the unit in which the price is set and in
which amounts to be paid are to be calculated and, on
the other hand, the counter-value which is displayed
for
information purposes only; where appropriate,
agreements on common formats or designs for dual
displays; and the avoidance of excessive amounts of
information, which may be confusing;

5. Whereas Articles 4 and 5 of Regulation (EC) No
1103/97 provide rules for the adoption and use of the
conversion rates; whereas the conversion rates and
rounding rules should be used when calculating the
counter-values in dual displays; whereas a dual display
should not place an obligation on a retailer to accept
payments in euro during the transitional period;

6. Whereas there is a series of provisions concerning
consumer protection and information to consumers;
whereas Article 4 of Directive 98/6/EC of the Euro-
pean Parliament and of the Council of 16 February
1998 on consumer protection in the indication of the
prices of products offered to consumers (5) states that
price displays (sale price and price per unit) should be
unambiguous, easily identifiable and clearly legible;
whereas the aforesaid Article 4, in the light of recital
13 of the Directive, states that, in the interests of trans-
parency, Member States can limit the number of prices

(5) OJ L 80, 18. 3. 1998, p. 27.

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which would have to be displayed in the national
currency unit and in the euro unit; whereas recital 5 of
Regulation (EC) No 1103/97 states that measures other
than those contained in that Regulation and in the
Regulation to be adopted under the third sentence of
Article 109l(4) of the Treaty should be examined to
ensure a balanced changeover, in particular for consu-
mers;

7. Whereas for reasons of clarity and completeness the
legal requirements as interpreted by the Commission
as well as the standard of good practice proposed by
the Commission are presented together in this Recom-
mendation; whereas this standard of good practice
could serve as a minimum basis
for negotiations
between professionals and consumers with the objec-
tive of agreeing on standards of transparency and infor-
such negotiations have
mation provision; whereas
already begun at national and Community level;

8. Whereas it would be desirable for dual displays on
‘benchmark indicators’ such as bank statements and
bills from utility companies to begin early in the tran-
sitional period; whereas
the introduction of dual
displays in the retail sector should be progressive
depending on several factors: the pace at which custo-
the need to
mers wish to make the changeover,
educate consumers, on the nature of the retail outlet
and on the types of product being sold, and on the
technical implications and cost of modifying existing
price and financial display systems;

9. Whereas Recommendation 98/286/EC on dialogue,
monitoring and information to facilitate the transition
to the euro (1) cover measures for the monitoring and
evaluation of good practices relating to the introduc-
tion of
the euro; whereas the Commission would
consider legislation to ensure the respect of good prac-
tices in the case of dual display should these measures
prove ineffective,

HEREBY RECOMMENDS:

Article 1

Definitions

For the purpose of this Recommendation, the following
definitions apply:

(a) a ‘dual display’ of a price or other monetary amount is
the simultaneous display of an amount in the national
currency unit and in the euro unit;

(1) See page 22 of this Official Journal.

(b) ‘participating Member States’ are those Member States
which adopt the single currency in accordance with
the Treaty;

(c)

‘national currency unit’ is the unit of the currency of a
participating Member State, as that unit is defined on
the day before the start of the third stage of economic
and monetary union;

(d) ‘euro unit’ is the currency unit of the euro as referred
to in the second sentence of Article 2 of the draft
Council Regulation on the introduction of the euro;

(e)

‘transitional period’
January 1999 and ending on 31 December 2001;

is the period beginning on 1

(f)

‘conversion rate’ is the irrevocably fixed rate adopted
for the currency of each participating Member State by
the Council according to the first sentence of Article
109l(4) of the Treaty.

Article 2

Standard of good practice

1. Where a dual display of prices or of other monetary
amounts is provided, the following provisions must be
complied with pursuant to existing legislation:

(a) the conversion rates must be used for calculating the

counter-values in dual displays;

(b) rounding to the nearest cent must be adhered to as a
minimum standard of accuracy for prices or other
monetary amounts which have been converted from a
national currency unit into the euro unit;

(c) dual displays of prices and of other monetary amounts
must be unambiguous, easily identifiable and clearly
legible.

The following basic provisions

2.
adhered to.

should also be

(a) With particular regard to the clarity of dual displays:

(i) it should be possible to distinguish between, on
the one hand, the unit in which the price is set
and in which amounts to be paid are to be calcu-
lated and, on the other hand, the counter-value
which is displayed for information purposes only;

(ii) dual displays of prices

and other monetary
amounts should not be overloaded with excessive
numbers of figures. As a general rule, dual displays
of prices on individual products may be limited to
the final price which consumers have to pay. As a
general rule, dual displays on receipts from retail
outlets and on other financial statements may be
limited to the total amount.

(b) Retailers should indicate clearly whether

they are
prepared to accept payment in the euro unit during
the transitional period.

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Article 3

Implementation

Article 4

Final provision

1. Dual displays
communications
switchover of consumers and employees to the euro.

should form part of an overall
the

strategy designed to facilitate

2. Dual displays on benchmark indicators such as bank
statements and bills from utility companies should begin
early in the transitional period.

3.
The introduction of dual displays in the retail sector
shoud be progressive, and will depend on the need to
facilitate the changeover of clients and consumers and the
pace at which they wish to make the changeover. It will
also depend on the nature of the retail outlet, on the types
of product being sold, and on the technical implications
and cost of modifying existing price and financial display
systems.

4.
Professional associations should consider the poss-
ibility of establishing common formats or designs for dual
displays. They are also invited to provide small retailers
with assistance in developing dual display capabilities and
other communication activities.

Member States are invited to support the implementation
of this Recommendation.

Article 5

Addressees

This Recommendation is addressed to the Member States
and to all economic agents who may provide a dual
display of prices or other monetary amounts.

Done at Brussels, 23 April 1998.

For the Commission

Yves-Thibault DE SILGUY

Member of the Commission