EU commissioner warns public to beware forged notes
An EU commissioner says the launch of the euro across the 12 member states is going smoothly.
Pedro Solbes says fears that criminal gangs would prey on the fleet of armoured cars delivering the cash to banks and stores have proved groundless.
Mr Solbes says robberies are down compared to the same period last year, despite the "enormous increase in value and amount of money being transported".
However, forgers have apparently been working overtime to get rid of their stocks of the old national currencies.
There have been no cases yet of counterfeit euro notes turning up. But Mr Solbes says the number of forged national currencies discovered is higher than last year.
He urges people to be vigilant when dealing with both currencies, but says the problem should not last long.
He says: "A considerable number of actually rather poor quality notes will doubtless disappear off the market quickly."
With six billion euro notes and 37 billion coins already distributed, Mr Solbes says the situation for banks and retailers is "entirely under control."
Most large retailers have euro already on hand, as do 60% of smaller stores, he says.
Mr Solbes urges people who bought the 150 million "mini kits" of euro coins sold in December not to save them as souvenirs, but to start spending them.
Mr Solbes concedes that some retailers are taking advantage of the conversion to raise prices.
"Of course prices may go up," he says. "That's always possible in a market economy."
"But we are very much opposed to people using the euro as a justification for price increases."
