The weird thing about it is that although you will already be using the euro, and - like all other people living in Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain or Portugal - you won't notice much of a difference.

Consumers probably won't notice much difference - at first

This is because the colourful euro notes and two-tone coins will not be in your pocket before January 2002, and in the meantime all national currencies will be 'denominations' of the euro as their exchange rates are "irrevocably fixed".

There will be a set amount of e.g. escudos or guilders to the euro - just as there are 100 centimes to the franc, and 100 pfennigs to the Deutschmark.

There are two reasons for the three-year delay:

The first is technical. The decision on which countries were to take part in monetary union was taken as late as spring 1998. The size of the eurozone determines the amount of euro cash needed, and it takes time to print and mint the billions of euros.

The second is practical. The politicians decided that Euroland's consumers should be given some time to get used to the new currency. You will not have to give up your familiar escudos, pesetas, French and Belgium francs, guilders, punts, lira, schillings, Deutschmarks or Finnish markkas before the end of June 2002 (although in some countries this will happen a few months earlier).

But before then there will be many other changes having an impact on your life and that of other Euroland consumers.

Dual pricing

The first thing you will notice is dual pricing. Some shops, restaurants and banks in the eurozone have already begun to display prices in both the national currency and euros. During the next couple of years this will become more commonplace, and retailers and consumer associations across Europe have signed agreements giving guidelines designed to make the transition as easy and painless as possible.

The euro's delayed arrival will give you three benefits:

• Familiarity
  You have time to get used to how much things cost in euros. If you are an Italian, for example, you will be used to large lira sums and will have to learn to juggle smaller sums of money. If you are a German, prices will suddenly appear to be much lower - about half of what they used to be in Deutschmarks.
• Transparency
  You will be able to immediately see price differences across the eurozone. Experts predict that this will drive down prices. Cars are a typical example. In Italy they are much cheaper than in the Netherlands or Germany. Priced in euros you will know the exact difference - and should be able to buy accordingly, if you don't live too far away from the next border.
• Fighting tricksters
  Once you know the price in euros of a walkman or a litre of milk, fraudsters will find it more difficult to trick you by hiding price increases during the introduction of euro coins and notes.

Shareholders

All European shares will be priced in euros

If you own shares, you may want to have another look at that share certificate again. All European stock markets - even some outside the eurozone - will price their shares in euros. The size of your share in the company will not change, but you will have to get used to the new prices when trying to spot a buying opportunity.

A word of caution: If you invest in mutual funds based in other eurozone countries, be very careful if they claim extraordinary performance during recent years, and list their achievement in euros. Their results may be distorted by currency fluctuations. For a good portrayal of past performance, look out for the disclaimer describing historical data "as reported" and currency adjustments as "converted" or "restated" - and it is recommended that you seek independent financial advice.

Online shopping, border hopping

If you live close to one of Europe's many borders, you can probably make most of the new single currency - even before you see any euro cash.

If you travel within Euroland, you will not have to pay any exchange charges

As you know, national currencies in the eurozone are just denominations of the euro. So if you change pesetas into schillings you do the same as swapping a five dollar bank note for 500 cents. According to the rules of European Monetary Union, banks are obliged to exchange Euroland currencies for free, so you should have no extra costs when shopping across borders. And once dual pricing is widespread, you won't have any problem telling a bargain from a rip-off.

Retailers displaying this logo have signed a code of conduct on euro pricing

Of course the same holds true if you go on holiday in Euroland.

Shopping online should be even easier. Savvy retailers will price their goods in euros, and you won't have to worry about any exchange rate fluctuations.

Stability

The lack of currency chaos will be welcome news. If you live in one of Euroland's smaller countries, your national currency is likely to have suffered wild fluctuations during the market turmoil in the early 1990s. Now that the whole economy of the eurozone and the reserves of all central banks are backing the euro, you should have a more stable currency.

In countries like Germany though, there are fears that the euro will not be as strong as, for example, the Deutschmark. Financial experts are divided on the issue. Most of them predict that the euro will be stable and strong, but others suggest that economic tensions between Euroland's regions could bring the euro down. Nobody has ever tried a venture like EMU before, so only time will tell who is right.

Euro money

The euro changeover should cost you nothing

You should not have to worry too much about your bank account. Your bank, life insurance and building society should do all the work for you - for free. If they try to charge you, contact your local consumer association who will give you advice.

Be suspicious of anybody who is trying to charge you for anything in connection with the transition to the euro!

More competition, more choice

The euro will make it cheaper for many companies to move into new markets. For consumers this should translate into more choice and lower prices.

Some price differences between countries will remain - because of different levels of taxation in eurozone countries, transportation costs or regional peculiarities. But experts predict that overall you will en up paying less.

If you live in a country which until recently had high interest rates, you will enjoy much cheaper loans and mortgages.

Euro threats

As mentioned earlier, there is one big drawback. Every big change involving money attracts criminals, and monetary union is no exception.

The UK's switch to decimalisation and Germany's issuing of new bank notes in the late 1980s are good examples. On both occasions fraudsters managed to wheedle cash out of people who were unfamiliar with the look of the new money or the changeover procedures to the new currency.

But there are threats that could cost you more than cash. Increased competition will not only drive down prices. Firms will try to cut costs too.

This may put your company out of business - and you out of a job.

Supermarket chains like France's Carrefour and the Dutch retail group Ahold could move aggressively into the eurozone, forcing corner shops out of business.

American banks also have plans to use the big euro shake-up to establish themselves in European retail banking.

As competition is heating up, shops and manufacturers are bound to get burned.

The taxman cometh

Another problem is tax harmonisation. This may sound like a nice thing, but it is more likely to lead to discord.

There are different tax levels across the eurozone. High taxes make companies less competitive, and high-tax countries will urge others to raise their taxes to the same level. Already there is a drive to close tax loopholes across the eurozone. Tax havens like Luxembourg and some of the British Channel Islands could face a clampdown on untaxed accounts holding billions of pounds, francs, and Deutschmarks from dubious sources.