EUROZONE : EURO CHANGEOVER 'RUNNING SMOOTHLY' IN ESTONIA.

• Position: Brief article

Around a quarter of Estonian consumers are now paying in euro, according to a new survey by the EU executive. While most customers (56%) were continuing to pay for goods in shops in the Estonian kroon, on 3 January, the European Commission says that 30% of those surveyed were using the euro alone and 90% were getting their change in euro, indicating that the changeover to the single currency is "running smoothly and according to plan," and that the figures are in line with those seen in Slovakia when it adopted the single currency in 2009. The high number of customers still using the kroon can be explained by the fact that people are using shops rather than banks to absorb the old notes.

The changeover must be completed by 14 January, until which time both the euro and the kroon will be circulated. Around 194 million euro coins and 45 million banknotes are needed to bring the euro in fully. The...