Time to begin the hard sell

Date: 18/04/1996

MUCH has been made of the discussions between EU finance ministers in Verona last weekend on the future relationship between those inside the single currency bloc and those who, by choice or necessity, remain outside.

But all the talk of an ERM II, sanctions and stability pacts has overshadowed another of the key problems facing Union governments as they continue to tighten their collective economic belts in preparation for monetary union.

Economics Commissioner Yves-Thibault de Silguy spent much of last year urging member states to agree on a name for the new currency so that the campaign to “sell” the project to a sceptical public could begin.

At last December's Madrid summit, EU leaders finally heeded his warnings and reluctantly agreed to christen it the 'Euro'. Acknowledging the need to end the uncertainty, they opted for a name which, while unlikely to stir the hearts and minds of the public, would at least offend no one.

Weeks later, the Commission launched its drive to sell the newly-christened currency at a much-publicised round table in Brussels. Since then, however, those charged with getting the 'Euro' message across have gone strangely quiet.

As European Voice reveals in a report this week, few EU governments have even begun to devise a strategy to prepare the public for the launch of EMU.

Some will argue that any publicity campaign launched now would be premature, given that the 1 January 1999 deadline for monetary union is still nearly three years away and the public is unlikely to start using the new notes and coins before 2002.

But the pain which has inevitably accompanied member states' efforts to get their economies into shape for EMU is being felt now. If governments are to convince their electorates that the pain is worth enduring because of the long-term rewards it will bring, they must start now.

Government leaders have repeatedly stressed the need to avoid the mistakes of Maastricht during the current Intergovernmental Conference by encouraging an informed public debate throughout the negotiations. Yet the introduction of a single currency will affect the EU's 370 million citizens more profoundly than any of the changes being contemplated at the IGC.

If the drive to sell the Euro is left on the back-burner until the day of reckoning is almost upon us, the turmoil aroused by the Maastricht ratification process could pale into insignificance compared with the backlash which may be triggered by a decision to fire the starting gun for EMU.