Eurozone wants to get rid of 1 and 2 cents coins

The majority of citizens of the eurozone countries are in favour of abolishing the 1- and 2-cent coins and rounding up cash payments to 5 eurocents. In a consultation on the future of the smallest euro coins, 67 per cent were in favour of abolishing them, reports the European Commission.

The Commission will decide on the future of the coins at the end of this year. The European Union is considering submitting a legislative proposal on a rounding rule for all nineteen euro countries and possibly even ceasing to issue the 1 and 2 euro cents.

The EU Member States of the Netherlands, Belgium, Finland, Ireland and Italy have already independently opted for a rounding rule down to 5 euro cents. In all euro countries a majority of the population is in favour of abolishing the smallest coins. On average 72 per cent consider them "not useful", and 71 per cent are in favour of introducing a European rounding rule.

According to EU rules, the Commission must investigate the costs and social acceptance of the use of euro coins. 

 

Source: commonspace.eu with the European Commission

Related articles

Editor's choice
News
Armenian and Azerbaijani officials seek to defuse tension

Armenian and Azerbaijani officials seek to defuse tension

Armenian and Azerbaijani senior officials have moved to reduce tensions that erupted following an outcry in Armenia after a visit by foreign diplomats to Karabakh and surrounding regions, and a subsequent reaction in Azerbaijan. Armenia’s Security Council Secretary Alen Simonyan has said that following the events that took place at Gandzasar Monastery, he spoke by phone with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s Assistant Hikmet Hajiyev. Responding to a question about whether he plans to publicly respond to Hajiyev’s statements regarding Gandzasar, Simonyan said at a press briefing that not all statements necessarily need to receive a public response. “I think everything has been said, and not everything that is said always needs a response. We need to realize whether this will change something or not. I can say something sharp now, respond in some way, we can all feel good for 15 minutes, but by doing so I could harm the negotiations,” Simonyan said. He stressed that the peace process requires a cautious approach. (click image to read more)

Popular

Editor's choice
Interview
Thursday Interview: Murad Muradov

Thursday Interview: Murad Muradov

Today, commonspace.eu starts a new regular weekly series. THURSDAY INTERVIEW, conducted by Lauri Nikulainen, will host  persons who are thinkers, opinion shapers, and implementors in their countries and spheres. We start the series with an interview with Murad Muradov, a leading person in Azerbaijan's think tank community. He is also the first co-chair of the Action Committee for a new Armenian-Azerbaijani Dialogue. Last September he made history by being the first Azerbaijani civil society activist to visit Armenia after the 44 day war, and the start of the peace process. Speaking about this visit Murad Muradov said: "My experience was largely positive. My negative expectations luckily didn’t play out. The discussions were respectful, the panel format bringing together experts from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey was particularly valuable during the NATO Rose-Roth Seminar in Yerevan, and media coverage, while varied in tone, remained largely constructive. Some media outlets though attempted to represent me as more of a government mouthpiece than an independent expert, which was totally misleading.  Overall, I see these initiatives as important steps in rebuilding trust and normalising professional engagement. The fact that soon a larger Azerbaijani civil society visits to Armenia followed, reinforces the sense that this process is moving in the right direction." (click the image to read the interview in full)