Italy

This information will be updated periodically but it also includes some materials, for example the dual circulation periods, which are no longer relevant but have been retained for reference purposes. The date that this information was last updated is at the bottom of the page.

Italian Government euro web site:
www.tesoro.it/euro (Italian)
http://euro.finanze.it/ (Italian)

Pricing

Banking

Business Preparations

General Public

Information Activities

Other Links and Sources

Pricing

Consumer Prices
The following table shows the annual percentage change on the same month in the previous year.

Banking

	Italian banks have offered non-cash services in euro since 1 January 1999.
	Italian retail banks exchanged lira for euros up to a 1 million lire limit, or beyond with one day's notice for customers; and up to 500,000 lire for non-customers. Central bank will continue to exchange lira for euro for 10 years (until 1 March 2012)

ECSR

Central bank at:
www.britain.it (English pages)

Business Preparations

The percentage of SMEs who had changed over to euro on 1 January 2002 for:

	accounting systems	98 per cent
	prices	98 per cent
	invoicing	99 per cent
	computer systems and IT	96 per cent

Overall SMEs considered that the changeover to the euro:

	had been easier or much easier than they planned	38 per cent
	proceeded as they planned	61 per cent
	had been more difficult than expected	3 per cent

14 per cent of SME's had encountered practical difficulties when changing over to the euro.

When converting prices from national currency to the euro the percentage of SMEs who had:

	converted prices some upwards and some downwards	25 per cent
	converted prices on a neutral basis	66 per cent
	converted prices upwards	3 per cent
	converted prices downwards	7 per cent

EB Eurobarometer Survey EB122

General Public

	82 per cent felt that the introduction of the euro went well or fairly well.
	86 per cent felt that the changeover to the euro went without any difficulties or with some temporary difficulties for them personally and 74 per cent for everyone.
	57 per cent said that they found it easy to remember prices in euro, 60 per cent compare prices in euro and 71 per cent to understand bills in euro.
	83 per cent thought that dual pricing of goods was essential or fairly useful.
	For dual pricing in shops:

	16 per cent thought that prices when converted to euro had either not been rounded or had been rounded down.
	When asked which organisations had helped the most.
	54 per cent thought the media
	26 per cent thought shops and other retailers
	27 per cent thought the banks
	8 per cent thought consumer or other representative groups
	39 per cent thought family and friends

Information Activities

	Two new folders of information released October/ November 2001: one for general public (30 million); one for businesses (2 million copies).
	Website designed with Ministry of Education for primary and secondary school children; competitions for stamp design for art students; national and local competitions for children.
	Schools received information CD-ROMs, comic books and videos.

Other Links and Sources

European Commission:
www.europa.eu.int/index_en.htm (all EU languages for most documents)

European Central Bank:
www.ecb.int (All EU languages for most documents)

Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Embassy site:
http://www.ukinitalia.it

For information for travellers, including business travellers, click here to see the joint FCO/HMT/DTI Government leaflet "Euro notes and coins and how they will affect you" on this site.

Sources:

ECSR European Commission Second Report: 10 October 2001
Second report on the preparations for the introduction of euro notes and coins
EB Eurobarometer survey E121 January 2002
http://europa.eu.int/euro/html/dossiers/00716/00716-en.pdf
HICP. Harmonised Indices of Consumer Prices. Eurostat February 2002.
http://europa.eu.int/comm/eurostat/
EB Special Eurobarometer 171- May 2002 http://europa.eu.int/comm/public_opinion/archives/eb/ebs_171_tables_en.pdf