Brussels, 13/01/2005 (Agence Europe) - A Eurobarometer survey conducted end 2004 reveals that Europeans feel more and more at ease with the euro. The third study on the behaviour of the citizens of the twelve Member States that adopted the euro three years ago shows growing familiarity in the use of euro notes and coins. For coins, 72% experience no difficulty and, for notes, 93% - 54% would like to see the end of the double price marking among traders; 52% of those questions admit they count mentally in euros when they make their daily purchases, while 49% say it is also the case for exceptional purchases (like houses or cars). The progress made compared to 2003 is significant (+5 points) but results differ considerably from one Member State to the next. The Irish adopted single currency at 72%, the French at 14%, the Portuguese 13% and the Belgians, at 12%, are among the most reticent.
Seventy-two percent of the population see the euro as an international currency, like the yen or the dollar. Over half of citizens have correctly evaluated the euro/dollar exchange rate, noting that single currency is worth more than US currency. For 51%, the situation is in no way a cause for concern. At regional level, adoption of the euro by Member States from the last enlargement is not a mystery for 79% of the panel, which states it knows that these countries are compelled to join the euro zone in time. On the other hand, only 38% of those taking part in the survey know that, since July 2002, they no longer pay any more charges for withdrawal or payment by bank card in another country of the euro zone than they do in their own country.
The possibility of withdrawing the one and two centime coins does not frighten the Europeans, 60% of whom are not adverse to this, although 65% consider it would entail a price rise. The idea that the euro has contributed to increasing inflation since it was introduced remains and over half of the respondents consider that the eruro has not reduced the price differences that still persist between euro zone countries.
The debate on revising the Stability and Growth Pact seems to be gaining hold more in Germany than in Ireland. In Germany, 73% of citizens have at least a superficial knowledge of the multilateral budgetary surveillance instrument, whereas only 26% of the Irish have even heard of it. Although over half of the citizens in Italy, Luxembourg, Germany and Belgium would like to see strict application of the SGP during difficult economic periods, quite a different opinion is expressed in Finland and Ireland, and public opinion is divided in France, the Netherlands and Greece. Full results of the survey are available at the following address: http: //europa.eu.int/comm/public_opinion/flash/fl165_euro.fr.pdf