However, once European businesses and citizens are using the euro for their everyday transactions, the provision of low-cost, efficient cross-border retail payment services will undoubtedly become a clear policy priority. Finally, returning to the title of my speech "Where are we 11 months before E-day? ", I would say that so far we are well on track.
Even before the introduction of euro banknotes and coins, the euro has already delivered much of what was expected. We regard these achievements with some satisfaction. Nonetheless, this does not mean that we are complacent. The enormous challenge of the cash changeover still has to be met and, despite all past and ongoing work, a lot remains to be done.