Press Release: Survey shows European public is largely at ease with euro three years after adoption

Three years after the introduction of the euro notes and coins, citizens in the euro zone had become familiar with the European currency, no longer thinking in the old national monies for common purchases, knowing the approximate value of the euro against the dollar, expecting the new EU members to also adopt it and believing that this would be beneficial for consumers overall. At the same time, citizens did not appear to know that they were able to withdraw cash and make purchases with their bank cards in other euro zone countries without incurring any supplementary fees, a survey carried out by the Commission showed. It also revealed that more than half of the public in the euro zone had at least heard about the Stability and Growth Pact and saw it as a guarantee for a strong and stable euro.