Brussels, 21/12/2007 (Agence Europe) - One year after Slovenia, it is the turn of Cyprus and Malta to join the euro area, taking its membership up to 15 on 1 January 2008. Cyprus will adopt the single currency at the rate of 0.585274 Cyprus pounds to one euro and Malta at 0.429300 Maltese lira. Ten days from the big event, practical preparations are going well, in line with national changeover plans, the Commission says in a press release published on 21 December.
Fears over prices exist, however. The example of the previous enlargement of the euro area with the accession of Slovenia shows that, while there may be no practical problems in the changeover, the introduction of the single currency can coincide with price rises. In Slovenia's case, however, Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia says that the euro is responsible for an increase of only 0.3 of a percentage point at most in the consumer price index. This is a distinction that people do not necessarily make when confronted with an annual inflation rate of 5.7%, as is the case for Slovenia, according to Eurostat figures in November (compared with a euro area average of 3.1%). Consequently, the impression among people remains that price increases are linked to the introduction of the euro. This is also what the latest Eurobarometer report, published on 18 December, seems to suggest: inflation is becoming a major worry for most Europeans. While concern over prices has increased since spring 2007, the trend is especially pronounced in Slovenia, where the proportion of the population concerned by inflation rose by 45 points to 63%. To counter this perception, the Commission has called for citizens to be properly informed and for rigorous monitoring of possible unfair practices on prices. The measures put in place by Cyprus and Malta seem to the Commission to be satisfactory and both countries are well prepared for the changeover, it says in its recent report on their preparedness (see EUROPE 9553). Cypriot Finance Minister Machalis Sarris does not expect his country to suffer high inflation as a result of the move to the euro (see EUROPE 9557). 45% of his compatriots (up 17% on last year) and 41% of Maltese (+7%), however, say is the most serious problem facing their countries, according to the latest Eurobarometer.
The countries which joined the EU in 2004 and 2007 are required to adopt the euro when they meet the Maastricht criteria. Slovakia is aiming to join on 1 January 2009, Poland is planning for 2011 and Romania 2014. Lithuania and Estonia will not join before 2010 and 2011. The other member states (including Sweden) have not given any indication of a date for joining. (A.B.)