Two years ago, the banking community was unanimous in calling for an end date to be set for migration to SEPA by means of EU-wide legislation. Having a regulation is one thing. However, appropriate communication and services for end users are also required.
The new member countries will in the future benefit also from greater markets for their products [and thus scale economies], while the old member countries are facing stiffer competition in many industrial sectors. Stiffer competition is likely to enhance productivity in Europe as a whole.