Euro Information Conference
17/10/2001 - Press Releases
A Euro Information Conference was held today, Wednesday 17 October 2001, at the Bank of Greece, concluding the series of conferences organised in the capitals of euro area countries in the context of the Euro 2002 Information Campaign of the European Central Bank and the national central banks.
The conference comprised three sessions:
The euro and the public, coordinated by the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Greece Mr. Nicholas C. Garganas, with the following speakers:
- Mr. Michael Varelas, Director of the Cash Department of the Bank of Greece,
- Mr. Konstantinos Botopoulos, Lawyer at the Legal Department of the Bank of Greece,
- Mr. Haralambos Kouris, President of IN.KA. - General Consumers' Federation of Greece, and
- Mr. Yannis Kostopoulos, Chairman and Managing Director of Alpha Bank and Vice Chairman of the Hellenic Bank Association.
The euro and the firm, coordinated by the Deputy Governor of the Bank of Greece Mr. Panayotis Thomopoulos, with the following speakers:
- Mr. Theodoros B. Karatzas, Governor of the National Bank of Greece and Chairman of the Hellenic Bank Association,
- Mr. Lefteris Antonacopoulos, President of the Federation of Greek Industries,
- Mr. Ioannis Kapralos, President of the Athens Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and
- Mr. Spiros Divanis, President of the Attica Hotels Association.
The completion of the changeover to the euro, with the following speakers:
- Mr. Lucas Papademos, Governor of the Bank of Greece,
- Mr. Willem F. Duisenberg, President of the European Central Bank, and
- Mr. Yannos Papantoniou, Minister of National Economy and Finance.
The purpose of the conference was to present the preparations of the public sector as well as the private sector in Greece, for the introduction of euro banknotes and coins on 1 January 2002. Representatives of banks, industry, retailers, hoteliers and consumers, as well as Bank of Greece officials, commented on the preparations from their own individual point of view.
The conference closed with speeches on the completion of the changeover by the Governor of the Bank of Greece, Mr. Lucas Papademos, the President of the European Central Bank, Mr. Willem Duisenberg, and the Minister of National Economy and Finance, Mr. Yannos Papantoniou.
More information on euro banknotes and coins, their security features, cash changeover modalities, as well as on all other Euro 2002 Conferences, is available at the following websites:
www.bankofgreece.gr
www.euro.ecb.int
www.ecb.int
Mr Papademos' speech
Mr Duisenberg's speech