| Benefits | Burdens |
| Lower interest rates over the long term | The direct and indirect costs of changes to IT systems and accounting procedures |
| Elimination of exchange risks in trading with Europe | The possible reorganisation needed for new price-points for many consumer products , with new product sizes or specification . |
| Reductions in foreign exchange transaction costs | The disruption of having to handle two currencies for a period |
| Easier comparability of market prices across Europe | The likely need for dual pricing displays for a period |
| Easier to deal with end-customers across Europe | The challenge of greater international competition |
| Additional staff training costs |
WHY WE NEED THE EURO
Because Europe's economy is now built on a single market and the single market will work much better with a single currency. EU members do more than 70 % of their trade with each other and will do even more with a single stable currency. By itself the euro cannot solve all our problems, but as a stable currency it will help to create a stronger economy capable of growing at a faster rate. Faster growth is needed to put more people back to work and to achieve a rising standard of living for individuals and families.
The euro will help to create jobs and prosperity:
We shall be spared those periods of currency turbulence which hurt trade between Member States. We have become so accustomed to instability between European currencies that we tend to forget that erratic movements up and down cut growth and jobs. The last serious upset in 1995 cost the EU 2 % in lost growth and up to 1.5 million jobs.
The euro will also create more prosperity by cutting the cost of doing business. Companies will no longer have the expense of handling several different currencies. And every reduction in costs can make a company more competitive and frequently able to pass on the benefits to its customers.
Sound management of public finances will lead to lower average interest rates and this will be good for investment, good for jobs and good for borrowers and home owners with a mortgage.
Benefits of the Euro to the Consumer
If the economy is sounder than it is now, you can be more confident that your standard of living will continue to rise. If growth is faster, there should be more job opportunities for you and your children.
And the euro will bring real practical advantages. For example, it will be easy to compare prices for the same goods in different Member States. This will be a real advantage if you are a person who likes to find the bes prices when you are buying something expensive. It will be easier to spot the bargains in other countries and to buy there, through mail order, for example, or through shopping on the Internet.
Another benefit will be obvious when you travel around the EU as you will not have to keep changing money and paying the charges. If you set off today on a tour of the fifteen Member States and changed your money into each local currency, exchange rate losses and charges would account for up to half of your holiday fund.
And if you are someone who believes in the need to create new and stronger bonds between the EU's Member States, the euro will certainly do that.
Should businesses change to the Euro early or late ?
Reasons to change early
