Euro Arrives in Slovenia with a Bang

Central bank governor Mitja Gaspari said the euro was "a great success for the citizens as well as for the state". "Saying farewell is usually not very nice. But this time it is about good memories and the hope that we are adopting a currency that is as good or even better" that the tolar, he told the press just minutes after midnight.

Automatic teller machines (ATMs), which were shut down at 9 PM on New Year's Eve, were gradually brought back into service shortly after midnight and Finance Minister Andrej Bajuk was one of the first people to withdraw crisp euro bills in the centre of Ljubljana.

"This has been a great challenge for our economy, politics and social partners. We all joined forces to carry this out," he said. "I think this is a proof of what Slovenians can achieve if we tackle a problem and resolve it for the common good," he added.

ATMs were brought online just minutes after midnight as planned. The Bank Association of Slovenia said in a press release that AM almost three-quarters of the more than 1,500 ATMs across the country were up-and-running by 4 AM.

The remaining ATMs will be reconnected to the network throughout Monday. Point-of-sale (POS) terminals were also brought into service according to plans, the association said, and could be used problem-free in the first hours of 2007.

There had been some concerns about the changeover for round-the-clock establishments, but no problems have been reported from petrol stations or tolling stations.

Energy company Petrol, which operates several dozen 24-7 petrol stations, reported no problems with the transition to the euro. Similarly, the Motorway Company (DARS) told STA the changeover went smoothly and all sums were automatically translated into euros, so tolling is problem-free.

Marjan Kramar, the chief executive of Slovenia's largest bank, NLB, said that even though the ATMs were reconnected exactly as planned, the changeover was not over yet.

"Numerous parts of the projects are still ahead of us in the coming days and weeks. But I am convinced that the project...will be brought to a successful close," he told the press. France Arhar, who was central bank governor when the tolar was introduced, also withdrew euro bills in Ljubljana shortly after midnight and wished all Slovenians that the euro would serve them as "the best currency".

The new currency was received with mixed feelings by some of the people who chose to celebrate New Year's in the centre of Ljubljana.

This is not the end of the world; we will simply accept the euro just like we have accepted many other things before that, a middle-aged woman from Kranj told STA.

A 28-year-old from Ljubljana was somewhat more optimistic. "I think it's fine that we'll have the euro, I will no longer have to change money when I go abroad," she said.

Celebrations in Ljubljana coincided with New Year's festivities in the city centre. Thousands of revelers witnessed the release of some 3,000 yellow and blue helium balloons with euro signs at the stroke of midnight.

Midnight also marks the start of the 14-day period of dual circulation: people will be able to pay in tolars or euros, but shops are allowed to return change only in euros in order to expedite the withdrawal of tolars from circulation.

Smaller businesses were repeatedly warned to stock up on euros ahead of e-day, but at least some of the establishments which opened through midnight in the centre of Ljubljana ignored the law: at 3 AM, fast food outlets were still returning tolars.

The introduction of the euro is the culmination of a process which started on 28 June 2004, when Slovenia entered the ERM II exchange rate mechanism with an exchange rate of 239.64 tolars to the euro, which has remained unchanged since.

At that time Slovenia had already fulfilled all the convergence criteria bar inflation, which it eventually achieved in November 2005. After intense scrutiny by the European Commission, Slovenia got the final green light to join the eurozone at the EU summit on 11 July.