Three years after the introduction of euro notes and coins, residents of Europe's smaller countries have been far more nimble in adapting to the single currency than people living in France, Germany and Italy, according to a survey released by the European Commission Thursday.

Over all, 49 percent of respondents in the 12 countries that use the euro said the currency causes them some degree of difficulty, a similar result to a poll released last year.

But in Italy, where until recently a popular television game show still denominated prize money in the lira, residents actually regressed in their ability to handle the new currency, the commission said, calling the trend "slightly alarming."

The number of respondents in Italy who reported having "a lot of difficulties" with the euro rose to 35 percent from 29 percent last year.

The survey also showed more pessimism about the usefulness of the single currency, with 36 percent of respondents saying the euro was "disadvantageous over all" for their country – up from 29 percent in the months after euro notes and coins were released.

The poll was conducted on behalf of the European Commission by EOS Gallup Europe.

More than 12,000 people were interviewed in October and November, with an average of 1,000 per country.

In France, 58 percent and in Germany, 44 percent of people reported a lot or some difficulty using the currency. Age may play a bit of a role: 66 percent of people between 15 and 24 said they had no difficulty at all using the euro; 47 percent of people age 55 and over had the same experience.

"I think they have trouble with change," said Ryan van Wijk, a Brussels resident, referring to citizens of the euro zone's bigger countries.

Even EU officials have difficulty sometimes. "For large figures, probably the old currency still makes more sense to know what you're talking about," said a high-ranking official, who admits to making the conversions in his head.

That includes his annual summer boat rental, the house he and his wife bought last year – anything over about €1,000, or $1,327. But the official, who is 37, said he did not expect to be doing it forever. "I hope not," he said. "It's improving."

For some Europeans the euro changeover feels like yesterday.

"Has it been three years already?" said Ruth Chaigneau, a 53-year-old housewife browsing at a rummage sale in Neuilly, France. Chaigneau says her daughter helps her convert large sums back into francs.

Susanna Colombo, a real-estate agent in Milan, said it was with large amounts that the most confusion exists.

"I've had clients who come in and say they want to rent a house for €80,000 and I say, 'Don't you mean 80 million lire?' They say, sure, I don't know, whatever."

But in Europe's smaller countries like Ireland, Luxembourg, Greece and Belgium, only tiny percentages report problems.

Tracy Vander Elst, a 30-year-old who runs the cash register at a mini-market in Brussels, said the euro posed "no problem at all" for her customers.

But they can get very annoyed when they have to deal with the one and two-cent coins, she said.

"The one and two-cent pieces stress everybody out," she said of the reddish coins made from copper-plated steel. "They are a waste of time and many customers don't even accept them as change. They leave them behind."

The number of people who said they would like to see one- and two-cent coins removed from circulation increased five percentage points from last year to 66 percent for the one-cent coin and 60 percent for the two-cent.

In other findings of the poll:

• Men report fewer troubles adjusting to the euro than women: 57 percent of men said they had "no difficulty at all," while only 46 percent of women reported the same thing.
• About two-thirds of respondents wrongly believe that banks levy an extra charge when cash withdrawals are made from a bank machine in another country of the euro zone.

  Such extra fees are illegal.

• The usage of the euro is increasing outside of the euro zone. Some 54 percent of respondents said that they carry euros when they travel outside the euro zone compared with just 15 percent who said they take dollars, a decline of 2 percentage points in dollar usage since last year's poll.
• Very few Europeans understand or know about the growth and stability pact, the rules that underpin the euro. Only 19 percent of respondents said they had heard of it and understood it while 45 percent said they had never heard of it.

  The rest said they had heard about it but didn't know what it was about.

Elisabetta Povoledo contributed reporting from Milan, Paul Geitner, Emily Brennan and Caroline Millet reported from Neuilly, France.

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