Brussels, 18/07/2008 (Agence Europe) - In its regular report on practical preparations for the euro, adopted on Friday 18 July, the European Commission calls on Slovakia to improve the system for moving on to single currency. After having received final endorsement for entering the euro zone (EUROPE 9699), Slovakia has five and a half months to ensure smooth transition to single currency on 1 January 2009. As earlier examples have shown, it is above all necessary to “ensure that consumers and business are fully ready to use the euro as of day one and that the retail sales sector undertake and implement fair pricing”, Joaquin Almunia states in a press release. Generally speaking, coordination mechanisms entrusted to the national committee of coordination and to the Slovakian government, should be strengthened so that the various bodies work effectively and resolve problems rapidly, the Commission suggests.
In the finance and banking sectors, preparations are well and truly underway, the Commission says. A total of 500 million Slovakian euro coins are to be minted but orders for euro notes from the country's commercial banks are still limited at this point in time. They only account for 27% of the 188 million notes considered necessary by the Slovakian national bank (NVS), while this percentage was 92.5% in Malta and 67% on average in the first eurozone countries. To ensure that companies have the correct amount of liquidity in euros when the time comes, a further effort should be made to increase the pre-stocking of euros in banks and companies, the Commission notes. Whereas Slovakian citizens will be able to buy minikits of euro coins in order to become familiar with the new currency as of December 2008, the number of kits ordered (1.2 million) may prove insufficient. The number of minikits available should be more like 2 million, the Commission states.
The Commission advocates, moreover, that companies should be encouraged to sign the “ethical code of conduct”, thus pledging to abide by the rules for conversion. Such a measure is considered useful for defusing the fears of consumers who expect prices to rise with the changeover to single currency. Respect of the rule of rounding off prices, the correct conversion of prices and the practice of double labelling until end 2009 will come under undercover controls or controls further to consumer complaints (a special “euro hotline” will be set in place for this). Fines of up to €60,000 are foreseen in the case of infringement, but the relevant services should have the necessary resources for carrying out their mission, the Commission says. In order to convince citizens of the advantages of using the euro, the information campaign has intensified over recent months and is already bearing fruit, the Commission is pleased to point out. According to an Eurobarometer survey in May this year, about 64% of Slovaks are well or very well informed about changeover to single currency, compared to 51% in September 2007. Mainly devoted to Slovakia, this seventh report on the practical preparations with a view to enlargement of the eurozone is available on: http://www.ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/thematic_articles/article12963_en.htm . (A.B./transl.jl)