20000218

Adopting euro

would cost Britain

$58 bn: studies

LONDON: Adopting the euro would cost Britain around 36 billion pounds (58 billion dollars), and most businesses have no immediate plans to accommodate the European single currency, according to studies published on Thursday.

An analysis of the government's National Changeover Plan conducted by accountants Chantrey Vellacott DFK estimated that the one-off costs to Britain's private and public sectors of adopting the euro at up to 36.2 billion pounds, or 4.2 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

An ICM telephone survey of 1,001 chief executives conducted between January 27 and February 10 found that 90 percent of businesses felt little or no impact from the launch of the euro last year, while 87 percent said they would not make significant preparations ahead of a referendum on British entry.

The survey suggested that 73 percent of all the businesses polled opposed entry, up from 63 percent in March last year.

The studies were published by the anti-euro business grouping, Business for Sterling.

The organisation's chief executive Nick Herbert said: "The government's euro strategy turned on persuading business to prepare for early entry. But business has comprehensively rejected the National Changeover Plan, which is simply divorced from their real concerns.

"The 36 billion cost of the plan would be an appalling diversion of resources from a far greater business priority, the development of e-commerce.

"It is now clear that neither business nor the public wants the euro. The government should drop the plan and end uncertainty by ruling out joining the euro for the foreseeable future Ñ or at least in the next parliament," Herbert said.ÑAFP