Communication from the Commission on Practical Aspects of the Euro.

At the end of the first half of the transitional period, this communication privides an overview of the preparations undertaken so fare and those required for the final changeover to the euro at the beginning of 2002. Two events are associated with the end of the transitional period: as from 1 January 2002, the euro will no longer be devided into national currency units, and in the weeks following this date the national banknotes and coins will be replaced by euro-denominated notes and coins. While purely technical or practical in nature, these two events do have implications which are without precedent in monetary history.