Many still bemused by euro's imminent arrival

More than 50 years after D-Day, Europe is preparing itself for an event of a very different sort. E-Day, January 1st, 1999, will see the introduction of the single European currency, the result of the slow but inexorable process of integration that followed the second World War.

But although lawyers and accountants, businessmen and bankers have been busy preparing for the euro in recent years, there remains widespread uncertainty about the currency that will soon replace the pound.

One recent Irish survey found that 60 per cent of people were unable to identify the name of the new currency, with many mistakenly calling it the Ecu. A further 30 per cent did not know when it would be introduced while an equal number had little idea of its approximate value.

At midnight on December 31st, the new currency will come into being. It is expected to be worth around 80 Irish pence and can be used in the 11 states participating in Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). These are Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and, of course, Ireland.

However, the new currency will not be available in note or coin form from the beginning. It can only be used in cashless transactions until the new euro notes and coins are introduced, following a three-year transition period, on January 1st, 2002. By July of that year, all of the old Irish pound notes and coins should have been phased out.

The transition period was designed to allow people to come to terms with the new currency, which will involve major changes at all levels. The single currency will not only have a huge impact on the conduct of Irish economic policy but has huge implications for business as well. It raises issues to do with accounting, information technology, marketing and purchasing while the legal aspects of the change also have to be dealt with. While some companies are well advanced in their preparations for the euro, others still have a lot to do.

"Outside of big business, people are well informed but many are not well prepared," says Mr Pat McArdle, head of EMU planning at Ulster Bank.

The consumer has a little longer to adjust to the new currency which will not be in people's wallets and purses for the next three years. But it will not just be a matter of getting used to new notes and coins. People will also have to come to terms with the impact on prices of the change over.

Already, some retailers are issuing receipts in both pounds and euros. But it will be some way down the line before most people get paid in euros and, in turn, pay for goods and services in cash using the new currency.

When it does eventually become the common currency across Europe, however, it should facilitate freer movement of people, goods and services through the 11-member zone, one of the basic aims of the Single Market.