The first full working day since the introduction of the euro went smoothly across the euro-zone yesterday, despite bank strikes in France and Italy and delays in shops, banks and on motorways.
All cash dispensers in Austria were out of order for almost two hours yesterday afternoon and there were long delays at motorway toll-booths in Spain, France, Italy and Greece.
The Economic Affairs Commissioner, Mr Pedro Solbes, said that the day had gone remarkably smoothly and that more than 80 per cent of euro-zone cash dispensers were now dispensing euro.
"I am extremely satisfied with the course of events. It has been a warm welcome, despite the cold weather outside," he said.
The European Central Bank said the currency's introduction had gone more smoothly than expected. And financial markets responded by boosting the euro's value against the dollar by almost two US cents, bringing the European currency above the psychologically significant level of $0.90. The ECB's governing council will discuss the currency changeover at a meeting in Frankfurt today. The bank is expected to leave interest rates unchanged.
Five French unions representing bank workers went ahead with a one-day strike in support of a demand for a 3 per cent pay rise. But the customer-service counters in most banks remained open and the disruption was less severe than predicted.
A strike by Italy's central bank staff appeared to have little effect on the changeover.
The greatest problems came on motorways, with queues a number of kilometres long forming while toll-booth staff calculated change in euro.
In Germany, many customers had to queue in banks for more than an hour as they waited to collect their first euro.
Throughout the euro-zone, shoppers found that many transactions took an unusually long time as sales assistants accepted payment in old currencies and tried to calculate the change in euro.
In Austria, the demand for euro was so great that all the country's cash dispensers stopped working when a central computer broke down under the volume of business.
Although shopkeepers and consumers have been urged to remain vigilant for forged notes, there have been no reported cases of counterfeit euro. A thief in Athens stole €76,000 from a post office but police reported little trouble elsewhere.
Most European politicians and newspapers have been enthusiastic about the currency changeover but some members of Italy's right-wing government sought to pour cold water on the euphoria.
Mr Umberto Bossi, who leads the far-right Northern League, said the launch had left him cold.
"Personally, I couldn't care less about the euro and I don't think it means anything to anybody else either", he said.
But Mr Solbes was delighted with what has been described as the biggest logistical operation since the second World War.
"I am extremely satisfied with the course of the events. The results of the first day and in particular the reaction of citizens should be considered as very positive," he said.
