This follows at least from the fact, Wim Duisenberg emphasized, that the introduction of the new currency into circulation and the withdrawal from circulation of twelve national monetary units, which happened a year ago, "went surprisingly smoothly." The euro quickly established itself both in markets and in people's minds, and therefore London, Copenhagen, and Stockholm must understand that, being EU members, they will be forced to "work according to the common rules dictated by the existence of the common currency, the euro."
According to the ECB president, on the other hand, the accession of ten new members to the EU, planned for 2004, does not at all mean their automatic transition to the euro. In order to replace their national monetary units with the single European currency, Duisenberg emphasized, such states as, for example, Poland, the Czech Republic, or Estonia need to go through a rather complicated procedure and fulfill a whole range of economic conditions.
The transition to the single currency, the ECB chief believes, should follow not from considerations of national prestige, but solely from a sober economic calculation, since the introduction of the euro may deprive young EU members of such an important mechanism for protecting the national market as their own currency. Wim Duisenberg stated that too rapid a transition to the euro does not meet the interests of these countries, because they will have to withstand fierce competition within the EU.