hence in line with the objective defined by the ecb governing council, according to which the rise in the harmonised index of consumer prices for the euro area must be less than 2 % compared with the previous year. hence, price stability has been virtually achieved in the euro area. what are the reasons for this high internal value? in monetary union, the advantages of the single market can be exploited in full. in the single market, the euro area countries conduct more than half of their trade with each other. since enterprises are able to conclude contracts and invoice in the single currency, the fluctuations in the exchange rates between the individual national currencies no longer have the same effect they once had. the effect of a stable internal value is thus not limited to the currency area. it is also a major precondition for the stability of the euro exchange rate. • compared with the internal value, the euro ’ s external value is far less important for the individual countries of the euro area than before the start of stage three of monetary union. imports account for only around 13 % of euro area gdp. for consumers, the external value has little or no immediate impact. it is true that the exchange rate of the euro vis - a - vis the us $ influences the euro area ’ s competitiveness on third markets and the prices of imported goods. nevertheless, the external value of the euro may only play a role in the ecb ’ s decisions insofar as it affects the general rate of price increases via import prices. the euro ’ s external value only has a direct effect on consumers if they have to spend either more or less money on their holidays outside the euro area or if they buy goods imported from the united states. but this situation already existed prior to the introduction of the euro. however, the only difference is that at that time, the currency area was much smaller, and the external value hence much more important. iii. having spoken about purchasing power, i would now like to talk about another important aspect for consumers. stable prices make it easier for consumers to assess the development of prices. however, prices in the new currency, which products must display from 2002, will be less transparent than before. consumers must initially become accustomed to the new pricing in euro. only then will they be able to assess whether they are receiving the same amount of goods as in the period of the former national currencies. with the abolition of the national currencies, the people in the

and coins from the national currency unit to euro for account holders. the recommendation was accepted by the umbrella associations of the individual participating countries ’ banking industry. some countries have already defined which amounts are considered to be normal household amounts. the amounts range from national currency to the equivalent of eur500 in portugal up to unlimited amounts in finland, luxembourg and spain. in france, germany, italy and the netherlands, the level considered to be a household amount has not yet been defined. • since banks ’ actual compliance with the recommendation cannot be monitored with certainty, the commission called upon consumers ’ help in their own interest. consumer associations and representatives at the european level and, if necessary, at the national level, were asked to inform the commission of any events where it is likely that the banks ’ practices will deviate from the recommendation and the suggested measures. the commission ’ s appeal to retailers has already borne fruit. dual display of prices can now be seen in most shops. thus, a sound basis has been created for consumers to gain a new feel for prices. iv. as i already stated at the beginning, some people fear that once the euro is introduced, they might become the victim of an offence against property. indeed, the introduction of the euro represents a vast area for criminal activity. it offers great potential, especially for money counterfeiters. particularly in the starting phase, it can be assumed that consumers are not yet that familiar with the design of the euro banknotes and coins. there will hence be plenty of opportunities to bring counterfeit euro into circulation. but there is no reason to assess the situation that pessimistically, since there are effective ways of counteracting these risks. 1. information measures can be used preventively at this stage. consumers are to be informed already prior to the introduction of the currency about the design of the euro and especially about the security features. however, in addition, the conversion procedure, which at present has not been fixed completely, should also be published. several information campaigns introducing the design of the euro banknotes and coins have already been launched. i will only give a few examples : the german federal ministry of finance displays postcards depicting euro banknotes and coins free of charge in post offices. the ecb recently published a brochure titled “ the euro banknotes and coins ”. in some municipalities of the participating countries, people even used symbolic euro banknotes and coins for their daily transactions during a specific period. although numerous information campaigns are already