General information
The euro will be adopted according to the “big bang” scenario, which means that money will be exchanged into euros on the €-day at the exchange rate, which was confirmed by the respective decision of the EU Council in July 13 (the exchange rate is 1 euro = 15.6466 kroons).
Since the €-day ( 01.01.2011 ) there will be a two-week period of dual circulation when both the kroon and the euro will remain equal legal tender. Shops will accept kroons and euros, but change will generally be returned in euros.
A month before and six months after the €-day all bank offices that offer cash services will exchange kroons into euros at the central exchange rate established by Eesti Pank without a commission fee. Thereafter, a limited number of bank offices will continue to provide this service for an entire year. Eesti Pank will exchange kroons into euros at the central rate and without a commission fee for an unspecified term. Kroon cash will be withdrawn from circulation and euro cash will be released into circulation smoothly via bank offices, shops and service establishments.
Card payments will become euro-based since the €-day, kroons in ATMs will be replaced with euro cash within 48 hours. Taxes and benefits will be rounded in a more favourable direction for the taxpayers/beneficiaries, by which the state is setting an example for the private sector.
Since July 1 and up to 6 months after the €-day, shops will display prices in both kroons and euros. The Consumer Protection Board will be carefully monitoring prices changes before and after the euro changeover.
Introducing euro will affect the work of all businesses. Accounting- and IT-systems need adjusting, as well as displaying of prices and labels on products and cash registers. Businesses with an immediate contact with their clients should also think about the arrangement of introducing coins and banknotes. Consumer protection and price formation are under close attention.
Public limited companies and private limited companies
Upon the conversion of share capital and shares into euros, shareholders shall be treated equally and the rights of shareholders shall be preserved pursuant to existing proportions. Amendments will be made to the Commercial Code, enabling all financial specifications significant for the activities of the company to be indicated in euros.
a) 25 000 euros will be established as the minimum capital of public limited companies. Founding of new companies with share capital indicated in euros shall be made possible at least six months prior to the €-Day .
b) 10 euro cents will be established as the minimum nominal value of shares of a public limited company. The nominal value of a share shall be a multiple of 10 euro cents.
c) Public limited companies will be allowed to apply shares without nominal value. 10 euro cents will be established as the minimum book value of a share without nominal value. The establishment of a minimum book value for shares without nominal value prevents the emergence of shares with excessively low book value. A public limited company is not allowed to use shares with and without nominal value simultaneously.
d) 2 500 euro will be established as the minimum share capital of private limited companies.
e) 1 euro will be established as the minimum nominal value of a share. Multiplicity rate of the nominal value of a share will also be 1 euro.
Every public and private limited company must itself make the changeover to euro-based share capital – the Commercial Register will not make any automatic conversions. In performing the conversions, it may not be sufficient merely to divide share capital by the exchange rate: the conversion must take into account the requirement that sums be expressed in the appropriate increments and the proportion of the shareholders’ holdings must remain the same.
Adoption of the euro will not have an impact on the continuity of contracts and other legal documents. The introduction of the euro does not have the effect of changing the terms and conditions of any legal instruments or exempt anyone from the fulfilment of the obligations undertaken; neither does it grant a party the right to unilaterally modify or terminate a valid document.
Any monetary values in contracts entered into in kroons will be converted to euros based on the official exchange rate.
The contracts entered into with partners outside the monetary union should preferably include a clause regarding the use of the euro. If a contract term will be valid after the date of adoption of the euro, a provision could be made, e.g., through a euro clause, that euro will be a binding monetary unit.
