Conference Euro changeover – what should or shouldn’t be done. Conference on Euro Changeover Preparations, 2011

On 10-11th March an international conference Euro changeover – what should or shouldn't be done? Conference on Euro Changeover Preparations took place in Warsaw. The event was co-organized by the Government Plenipotentiary for Euro Adoption in Poland and the European Commission, DG ECFIN. The main purpose of the conference was to exchange knowledge and experiences on the practical preparations to euro changeover in different fields of the changeover process: cash changeover, financial and non-financial sector, public administration, consumer protection, and communication strategy.

Invited speakers included representatives of the "first-wave" euro area members, as well as representatives of countries that adopted the common currency between 2007-2011, i.e. Slovenia, Cyprus, Malta, Slovakia, and Estonia. Each session comprised two presentations, so as to contrast and compare the solutions developed by these two groups of countries in their preparations for the changeover. The chair of each session summarized the information presented by both speakers, adding comments on changeover experiences of his country or institution and led the subsequent discussion.

The participants of the conference had also the opportunity to hear the European Commission's comments on the practical preparations for euro changeover and to learn about Estonia's recent experience of adopting the euro. Furthermore, the Polish preparations for introducing the common currency and the actual state of play were presented. The conference was closed with a panel discussion, with experts directly involved in coordination of the preparations for euro adoption in the Visegrad countries and Estonia.

 

The event was organized in order to facilitate the works of the inter-institutional organizational structure for euro adoption in Poland, particularly with respect to its main task this year – drafting of the National Euro Changeover Plan. Preparation of this document has been preceded with the publication of the Strategic Guidelines for Euro Changeover Plan. Apart from the members of the Polish organizational structure, the participants of the conference included representatives of DirCom and EuroTeam, academia, NGOs and social partners.

Main conclusions to be drawn from the conference include the need for a close cooperation and coordination between private and public sector institutions in drawing up an appropriate strategy for integration with the euro area. Moreover, all the speakers underlined the importance of thorough planning of the changeover process and the need for an early start of preparations, which seems especially vital in the case of such a big country as Poland.

• Agenda (pdf file, 167 KB)

Presentations from the conference:

Opening:

• Ludwik Kotecki – Government Plenipotentiary for Euro Adoption in Poland, Secretary of State, Ministry of Finance, Poland (pdf file, 169 KB) 

Session 1: Cash Changeover

• Stefan Augustin – Director of Cashier's Division and Payment Systems Department, Oesterreichische Nationalbank, Austria (pdf file, 283 KB)
• Andrej Slížik – Head of Currency Circulation Section, Currency Circulation Department, Národná Banka Slovenska, Slovakia (pdf file, 423 KB) 

Session 2: Preparing the financial sector

• Helmut Rittgen – Head of the Cash Department, Deutsche Bundesbank, Germany (pdf file, 176 KB)
• Darko Bohnec – Vice Governor, Banka Slovenije, Former Member of the National Coordination Committee for the Euro Adoption, Slovenia (pdf file, 2,79 KB)

Session 3: European Comission's view: practical preparations to the euro changeover

• Benjamin Angel – Head of Financial Institutions and Financial Stability Unit, DG ECFIN, European Commission (pdf file, 108 KB)

Sesja 4: Preparing the non-financial sector

• Giuseppe Capuano – Head of Unit SME and Craft, Ministry of Economic Development, Italy (pdf file, 291 KB)
• Alan Camilleri – Executive Chairman, Malta Enterprise and Malta Industrial Parks, Former Executive Director of the National Euro Changeover Committee, Malta (pdf file 9,5 MB)

Session 5: Preparing public administration

• Emmanuel Constans – Inspecteur Général des Finances, Ombudsman of the Ministries of Economy and Budget, President of the Consultative Committee for the Financial Sector (CCSF), Former Head of the Mission Euro, France (pdf file, 26,8 KB)
• Andreas Charalambous – Director, Directorate of Economic Research and EU Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Cyprus (pdf file, 84 KB)

Session 6: Consumer Protection

• Karl Kollmann – Deputy Head, Consumer Protection Department, Vienna Chamber of Labour, Austria (pdf file, 53 KB)
• Joseph F.X. Zahra – Managing Director, Market Intelligence Services Co. Ltd., Former Chairman of the National Euro Changeover Committee, Malta (pdf file, 128 KB)

Session 7: Information Campaign

• Jeroen Sprenger – Project Manager, Ministry of Finance, Former Director of Communication, Ministry of Finance, The Netherlands (pdf file, 512 KB)
• Martin Šuster – Director of Research Department, Národná Banka Slovenska, Former Head of the Euro Communication Working Committee, Slovakia (pdf file, 1,56 MB)

Session 8: Estonia: latest experiences

• Tanel Ross – Deputy Secretary-General for Development, European Union and Foreign Relations, Ministry of Finance, Estonia (pdf file, 512 KB)

Session 9: Polish preparations for euro adoption

• Marek Rozkrut – Director of Financial Policy, Analyses and Statistics Department, Supervisor of the Bureau of Government Plenipotentiary for Euro Adoption in Poland, Ministry of Finance, Poland (pdf file, 497 KB)