Press Release: Changeover to the euro: European Commission calls on small and medium-sized businesses to act now in order to be ready for 1 January 2002

A new FLASH Eurobarometer poll finds that only a quarter of small and medium-sized businesses have already made their preparations for the euro, while a majority are planning to make the switch at the last moment. And while there is an appreciable increase in the number of firms using the euro for their national and international payments, the latest quarterly report on the use of the euro indicates that the actual figure is still low. For Pedro Solbes, Member of the Commission with responsibility for economic and monetary affairs, and Erkki Liikanen, Member of the Commission with responsibility for enterprise, it is now vital that all firms in the euro area, including very small ones, take steps to be able to work exclusively in euros from 1 January 2002. In a joint statement, they say that 'firms have made real advances in their preparations but a sizeable number are still not alive to the need for such preparations, are not clear about the timing and are failing to take the measures that will get them ready in time'.