EVERY citizen will soon have to make choices about Britain's future in the EU.

Newport Business School has recently carried out research examining the attitudes that will shape these choices to answer the question: Will Britain remain the odd one out?

Twelve of the current EU member states have abandoned their currencies and are now using the euro.

The big issue for Wales and the UK is whether we should join them and surrender the pound.

Historically the Welsh business stance has appeared to be pro-euro. Companies such as Corus and Panasonic have seen the single market as a way of enabling businesses to expand by providing unhindered access to 400 million consumers in 25 nations.

And the TUC has stated that "for businesses our membership of the EU is a success story".

Newport Business School, through its MBA facility, has surveyed 300 business people from a range of sectors. Fifty-three per cent of respondents said they were in favour of adopting the euro, while 43% said they were against it.

Fifty-one per cent of business stated that joining the euro would have positive implications for them and other Welsh organisations through an improvement in their competitiveness with other businesses in countries already in the eurozone.

A primary reason for this may be the fluctuating British exchange rate in relation to the stability of the eurozone.

A common response was that there was a definite lack of decision-making from the government over the timing of any entry into the euro and that Wales' exclusion from the single currency has already cost thousands of manufacturing jobs this year.

A key reason offered for not joining was the cost to business of converting systems to using the euro.

This point was far more significant to small and micro companies who felt that these costs may be more than their business is worth. There seems to be a different set of concerns towards the implications of joining the euro among the public.

The tabloids would have us believe that it is all about losing the Queen's head from our notes and coins.

More rational are concerns over hidden price rises after conversion as happened after decimalisation in the Seventies.

Our survey of 500 members of the public recorded 44% saying they knew a little about the Euro and 56% saying they needed far more information about how entry would affect them.

Many people from the UK take vacations within EU member states such as Spain, Italy, Portugal and Greece.

Of those who felt informed about the euro, many agreed that it would be easier to travel and spend within Europe if they did not have to exchange currencies.

On the other hand, 80% were concerned that prices had risen at holiday resorts and that this could happen in the UK.

Other concerns were that the euro will require a single interest rate and that this may mean that the European Central Bank in Frankfurt may not set a rate that is right for Britain.

Like the single currency, the draft European constitution has recently been the subject of much debate.

At present, laws adopted by the European Union are contained in two separate legal documents called treaties. The law relating to free trade and consumer rights are contained in the European Community Treaty (Treaty of Rome) while the international security issues are contained in the Treaty on European Union (Maastricht Treaty). There is also a separate Charter of Fundamental Rights, which is not legally binding at present.

For the constitution to be applied, EU member states must agree to adopt it. It is likely that several member states, including Britain, will hold a referendum.

This will pose few problems for countries like France, Ireland and Germany who all have written constitutions. In contrast, the UK does not have a written constitution and our citizens are unfamiliar with the concept.

Research conducted by Rebecca Evans, a final year BSc legal studies student at Newport Business School, confirmed the public's lack of awareness. About 80% of individuals polled in the Newport area did not know what a constitution was. In addition, about two thirds of the respondents who had heard of the European constitution were unsure of what the constitution would contain.

One common thread across all our research is the lack of information available to both the public and business.