euro - eagerness ” explains that by the first week, already 75 % of cash payments were in euro. in the netherlands, this 75 % level was already reached on the second day, and after one week, the changeover was virtually completed. as such, it was not without pride that i proclaimed my country european champion - though that could not entirely wash down the bitter aftertaste of missing this year´s world championship soccer. in hindsight, people felt well - informed about the euro and found the euro introduction in no way the drama that some had predicted. finally, on 28 january, the dutch guilder was the first of the former euroland currencies that in practice lost its legal tender status. to ease the minds of dutch roundtable members present, guilders can under certain conditions - still be exchanged for euros at my central bank ; coins until 2007 and banknotes even until 2032. one tiny spot on the otherwise shiny, new currency is the anecdotal reporting of price changes associated with the changeover. there is, however, little evidence of any significant effect on aggregate inflation figures in the euro area. according to the european statistical office, eurostat, the effect is likely to fall within the range of 0. 0 % to 0. 16 %. on a country - by - country basis, the possibility to round up prices would, of course, be linked to the conversion rate of the national currency. for example, calculating back from euros to german marks is much easier than from euros to dutch guilders. in addition, the cyclical position of the economy would influence the direction in which rounding may have occurred. for the netherlands, our research suggests that there might have been a slight upward effect on the price level of 0, 2 % to 0, 4 %. overall, competition and peer pressure from consumer organisations would clearly limit room for manoeuvre. moreover, possible one - off effects will be more than compensated by increased price transparency over the years to come. the merits of the euro so far this brings me to the reasons why the netherlands decided to give up its beloved currency. foremost, the euro is a political project in which the dutch could not afford to stay out. integration in a supranational context protects the interests of smaller european players. in economic terms, the euro increases macro - economic stability and cross - border price transparency. it reduces transaction costs by eliminating exchange rate risks. moreover, the euro is a catalyst for

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