MEPs want to bring in €1 bill
More than half the MEPs gathered in Strasbourg on Wednesday (26 October) have signed a declaration calling for the introduction of one and two euro bills in order to combat inflation and help citizens recognise the value of euro cents, writes Spanish daily ABC.
The 376 MEPs who signed the declaration, argue that people still feel discomfort handling the coins, with one and two euro bills being a useful way for consumers to get a grip on their day to day spending.
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The declaration states people have a low perception of how much the one and two euro coins are worth, and consequently how much cents are worth.
It says the smaller notes are all the more necessary in view of the forthcoming introduction of the single currency in the new member states.
MEPs from the southern EU countries form the lion's share of names on the list, writes ABC.
Northern eurozone states, such as the Netherlands, had national coins around the same value as the one and two euro coins anyway before they adopted the euro.
Finland has instead abolished the smallest coins, those for one and two cents.
The euro currently comes in banknotes of five, ten, 20, 50, 100, 200 and 500.
The lowest value of a coin is the one cent, which is commonly seen as an annoyance by EU citizens.
