The European Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Joaquin Almunia presented the “First Report of the Commission on the state of practical preparations for the adoption of the Euro in the new member states” on 10 November. Apart from the economic and financial questions established by the Treaties that regulate the procedures for the substitution of national currencies with the Euro according to which it will be the Council that will have to decide on the basis of a recommendation by the Executive the Report of the Commission underlines the need to take into consideration also the “psychological” aspects of the transition to the Euro: contrary to the pioneer states, the citizens of the countries of enlargement are already in contact on an almost daily basis with the European single currency and therefore ought to suffer only slight teething problems at the time of transition. “In spite of that stressed Almunia the preparations cannot be taken lightly if we want to have a shared and painless transition”. At the present time, Estonia, Cyprus, Lithuania and Slovania have already declared their desire to join the Eurozone from 2007, while the remaining six new members intend to adopt the single currency by the end of 2010.
