98/288/EC: Commission Recommendation of 23 April 1998 on dialogue, monitoring and information to facilitate the transition to the euro
Date: 1998-04-23
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: consumer information, consumer movement, euro, information policy, professional association, public awareness campaign

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COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION

of 23 April 1998

on dialogue, monitoring and information to facilitate the transition to the euro

(98/288/EC)

THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,

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

3. Whereas Recommendations 98/286/EC concerning
banking charges for conversion to the euro (5), and
98/287/EC concerning dual displays of prices and
other monetary amounts (6) are supplementary to the
dialogue initiated at national and Community level;

1. Whereas the euro will become the currency of the
participating Member States as from 1 January 1999;
whereas the euro will be substituted for the national
currencies of the participating Member States at the
conversion rates; whereas during the transitional
period money-market and financial instruments, but
not notes and coins, will be available in euro; whereas
the national currency units will be sub-units of the
euro according to the conversion rates; whereas
pursuant to Article 4(3) of Council Regulation (EC)
No 1103/97 of 17 June 1997 on certain provisions
relating to the introduction of the euro (1) the conver-
sion rates must be used for conversions either way
between the euro unit and the national currency
units;

2. Whereas account should be taken of

the work (2)
undertaken since the Round Table of May 1997, of
the communications of the Commission which have
resulted from that work, and of the discussions at the
Round Table of 26 February 1998 (3); whereas the
Commission considers it necessary to recommend
that measures be taken as regards dialogue between
professional organisations and consumers, the mon-
itoring of the transition to the euro, especially by the
creation of observatories, and as regards training and
education; whereas
the European Parliament has
encouraged the Commission to continue this work (4);

(1) OJ L 162, 19. 6. 1997, p. 1.
(2) Report of the expert group on the technical and cost aspects
of dual display, Euro Paper No 13; report of the expert group
on banking charges for conversion to the euro, Euro Paper No
14; report of the expert group on adjusting to prices and
values in euro, Euro Paper No 18; report of the expert group
on euro-education, Euro Paper No 19; report of the expert
group on small enterprises and the euro, Euro Paper No 21.
(3) Communication from the Commission Update on the practi-
cal aspects of the introduction of the euro; COM(98) 61 final,
11 February 1998. Communication from the Commission
on the information strategy for the euro; COM(98) 39 final,
6 February 1998.

(4) Resolution of the European Parliament of 13 January 1998 on

the euro and the consumer.

4. Whereas

following the work carried out by the
Committee on Commerce and Distribution and the
Consumer Committee (7) and the joint work carried
out by these two committees, negotiations have begun
at the Community level between professional organ-
isations in the fields of distribution, tourism, small
enterprises,
organisations;
whereas the Commission intends to continue and to
intensify this dialogue;

consumer

crafts,

and

5. Whereas it would be appropriate for Member States to
set up observatories, in line with relevant national law
and compatible with existing administrative struc-
tures, as centres for dialogue and monitoring for the
citizen; whereas the European Parliament has urged
that this approach be continued;

6. Whereas consumer contracts have to comply with the
provisions of applicable legislation, including those of
Council Directive 93/13/EEC of 5 April 1993 on
unfair terms in consumer contracts (8);

7. Whereas as far as the standards of good practice for
banking charges
for conversion to the euro are
concerned, in addition to other arrangements set in
place for monitoring the Commission intends to
monitor the observance of those standards, and calls
on all the parties concerned, and in particular the
banking associations, to provide it with the informa-
tion necessary for that purpose;

(5) See page 22 of this Official Journal.
(6) See page 26 of this Official Journal.
(7) Committee on Commerce and Distribution ‘Opinion on the
key points of the introduction of the single currency’, adopted
20 February 1998; Consumer Committee ‘Facilitating the
transition of the consumer to the euro’, adopted 10 February
1998; Report of the working group on acceptance of the new
prices and scales of values in euro, Euro Paper No 18.

(8) OJ L 95, 21. 4. 1993, p. 29.

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8. Whereas

there should be a permanent dialogue
between small and medium-sized enterprises and
their business partners; whereas small enterprises in
particular may face specific difficulties in their own
preparations for the changeover to the euro during
the transitional period; whereas it is in everyone’s
interest to facilitate the changeover to the euro for
small enterprises; whereas one way of achieving this
would be for enterprises to engage in negotiations at
the appropriate level with a view to agreeing on prin-
ciples that would help small enterprises to make the
changeover to the euro;

9. Whereas small enterprises have difficulty in gaining
access to traditional
information sources, and lack
information; whereas targeted information activities
should be organised for small enterprises; whereas
professionals and institutions, including chambers of
commerce, having contact with small enterprises
should keep up their awareness-raising and informa-
tion efforts; whereas the Commission will continue to
make available to small enterprises,
in particular
through the Euro-Info Centres network, practical
tools tailored to their needs;

10. Whereas Member States should continue to examine
the role played by the education system in informing
and the general public; whereas
young people
should exchange information and
Member States
good practice in this area,
for which purpose a
network of national education officials has been set
up; whereas it is essential that young people of school
age should be able rapidly to understand and accept
the euro under the most favourable conditions and
adjust to the new scales of values, due regard being
had in particular to their ability to pass on informa-
tion within the family circle; whereas, if it is to bear
fruit, action in schools must closely involve education
officials,
teachers and other school staff; whereas
action on the education front should involve not only
schools but all
the
education and training system; whereas young people
outside the school system should be given special
attention,

the different components of

HEREBY RECOMMENDS:

Article 1

Dialogue

invited to encourage consumer organisations and trade
associations to keep up an interactive dialogue. The
Commission will
such
also continue
dialogue at Community level, and will invite the Member
States to take into account the results.

to encourage

As part of that dialogue, consumer organisations and
2.
trade associations are invited to negotiate and, where
appropriate, to conclude agreements on standards of good
practice concerning dual display and payments, and to lay
down minimum standards with regard to the information
to be provided.

3.
Businesses should negotiate at the appropriate level
with a view to defining principles that would help small
enterprises to make the changeover to the euro. Such
principles should aim in particular at ensuring:

(a) that businesses give a period of notice before issuing
or requesting invoices exclusively in euro in order to
allow their customers, particularly where these are
small enterprises, time to prepare themselves properly;

(b) that,

if a small enterprise requests its supplier to
continue showing prices in national currency along-
side prices in euro on invoices, the supplier accepts;

(c) that large firms provide their subcontractors with the
necessary assistance in order to help them make the
changeover to the euro.

Article 2

Observatories and monitoring

The Member States,

1.
including where appropriate
local authorities, are invited to establish suitable facilities,
and preferably to set up observatories on the transition to
the euro, for monitoring the introduction of the euro, and
the fairness and transparency of professional practices.

1.
To ensure further progress in practical preparations
for the changeover to the euro, national authorities are

Each observatory should involve representatives of
2.
all relevant business sectors, the public administrations
concerned and members of the public, including repre-
sentative bodies, particularly consumer associations.

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3. Observatories should carry out the following tasks at
local level: reception, guidance to sources of information,
providing feedback, mediation, and assistance to citizens.
On the basis of an evaluation of these practices, they
should be able to transmit the benefits of their experience
to the relevant national and Community instances.

4.
In order to facilitate the monitoring of the imple-
mentation by banks of the standard of good practice on
banking charges for conversion to the euro, and in addi-
tion to other monitoring arrangements set in place, the
national and European banking associations are invited to
respond forthwith to the Commission’s requests for in-
formation on progress in implementing them. To allow
an initial evaluation of these good practices to be carried
out before the end of 1998, the national banking associ-
ations are requested to report to the Commission by 1
November 1998, through their European associations, on
the way in which banks intend to implement these good
practices.

5.
The Member States are invited to follow closely the
implementation of the standard of good practice and the
information provided by banks on the subject.

Article 3

Information and training

In view of the specific difficulties facing small enter-
1.
prises in their own preparations for the changeover to the
euro and in gaining access to traditional
information
sources, professionals and institutions, including cham-
in contact with small enterprises
bers of commerce,
should keep up their awareness-raising and information
efforts by targeted activities, including consultancy and
advice, and emphasising the practical preparations to be
undertaken.

2. Member States are invited to involve their education
and school systems as quickly as possible in the informa-
tion drive on the euro, and to that end to take all the

necessary steps to raise the awareness of, to inform and
train teachers and other school staff.

3.
Action in the education field should comprise
specific measures for all forms of education and training,
such as distance learning, adult education, higher educa-
tion, vocational training, and block-release training. In-
formation technology should be not only for raising the
awareness of and training teachers but also for channel-
ling information to young people. Member States are also
invited to prepare teaching materials that can be easily
used by teachers.

Special attention should also be given to young people
outside the school system or educational structures, by
taking appropriate measures to inform them.

Article 4

Final provision

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

Article 5

Addressees

This Recommendation is addressed to the Member States,
trade associations, consumer organisations, chambers of
commerce, banking associations, enterprises and all other
organisations or institutions in contact with them.

Done at Brussels, 23 April 1998.

For the Commission

Yves-Thibault DE SILGUY

Member of the Commission