A Roadmap for Exiting the Euro – Technical Preparation and Execution from the Viewpoint of the Exit Country

An exit from the Eurozone requires thorough planning and preparation. Technical barriers complicate the introduction of a national currency within a short time period. Machines have to be retrofitted, bank accounts have to be redenominated and the new currency has to be physically produced and distributed. Although a longer-term announcement and a broad range of information about the planned currency switchover, similar to the introduction of the euro with a run-up of three years, may promote acceptance among the population, the time factor is absolutely crucial to the successful introduction of a currency in this case. This applies both to a new currency with appreciation expectations, whereby an (illegal) influx of euros is anticipated, and to a new currency threatened by depreciation, which will be confronted with capital flight and the withdrawal of euro deposits in the run-up to monetary integration. Economic agents should therefore be left as little time as possible for anticipative adjustments that impede the switchover. Dirk Meyer, Helmut-Schmidt University, Hamburg, presents a possible roadmap for a successful switchover process.