of these goods were almost 3½ percent lower than in july 2001 across the euro area. telephone calls have also become cheaper over this period. in other areas where competition is strong there were also price reductions associated with the euro. overall, it does not appear that the cash changeover has been a major factor in the overall development of euro area consumer prices. eurostat, the official statistical agency of the eu, has estimated a cash changeover effect for the euro area on hicp inflation in the first half of 2002 of between 0 and 0. 2 percentage points. studies at the country level also point to limited overall effects, with some possible euro - induced price increases in certain sectors. for example, germany's federal statistical office, jointly working with the deutsche bundesbank, stated recently, that " the euro introduction has not had a considerable impact on the cost of living as a whole " ( ) in germany. while the effects may have varied across euro area countries and sectors, the overall impact of the cash changeover on the overall price level in the euro area has been contained. this evidence, however, contrasts sharply with the concerns and discussions in many euro area countries about the impact of euro cash on consumer prices. one reason for the gap between empirical findings and public opinion might be the fact that the general perception of price changes is more strongly influenced by the prices of small - ticket goods and services purchased on an almost " six months after the introduction of euro cash - an intermediate stock - taking in official price statistics ", destatis press release, 2 july 2002. daily basis. coincidentally, prices of some of these frequently purchased items, like tomatoes, petrol and tobacco products, went up, for the various reasons i have mentioned ( such as winter weather, oil prices and taxes ), at the same time as the introduction of euro banknotes and coins. although these price increases were unrelated to the cash changeover, many people have unfortunately associated them with the changeover. but it is important to realise that a complete picture can only be obtained by looking at a comprehensive measure of prices, including the prices of less frequent purchases. in fact, overall consumer price inflation has been around 2 % during recent months, a level which is very similar to that in december 2001, just before the introduction of the euro banknotes and coins. in addition, the price prospects for the coming months point to a rate of around 2 % in the euro area. over a longer period of time, the greater

since the publication of the report, the banking sector has subscribed to the eurosystem ’ s objectives in principle. it has begun to cooperate closely with the eurosystem in order to identify the practical impediments to the achievement of these objectives, and in order to investigate and, where possible, agree on effective solutions. i fully share the european parliament ’ s concern that very little progress has been visible to customers. however, there are rather strong indications that banks are making considerable efforts to prepare the ground for a more efficient handling of cross - border credit transfers. in particular, progress is under way in the areas of standardisation and simplification of the balance of payments reporting requirements. the ecb will prepare a progress report by autumn 2000 in which it will update its assessment. the eurosystem would prefer to maintain its present stance of cooperation but, if necessary, will step up the pressure on the banking sector. however, it would be unrealistic to expect the service level for cross - border payments to reach that of domestic payments in all respects by 2002. let me close by emphasising again that the introduction of the euro has indeed been a milestone in the ongoing process of european integration. the ecb, as the guardian of the single currency, shall continue to pursue its stability - oriented monetary policy in order to fulfil its mandate and to deliver the policy results that european citizens rightly expect.