Potential problems exist for all business transactions which are in certain European currencies and which continue to operate after 1 January 1999. The issues concern performance of contracts (including payment obligations) and price/interest rate calculations.
On 1 January 1999, the Euro will become the currency of the following EU member states:
- Austria
- Belgium
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Ireland
- Italy
- Luxembourg
- Netherlands
- Portugal
- Spain
CONTINUITY OF CONTRACT
A key issue for businesses is 'continuity of contract' - whether the introduction of the Euro will excuse a party from performance of its contractual obligations where:
- payments under the contract are denominated in one of the 11 European currencies referred to above or the ECU; or