Govt Sets Sight on Big Bang Euro Adoption in 2007
The government has decided that Slovenia would introduce the euro on 1 January 2007 according to the "big bang" scenario - swift replacement of tolar notes for euros.
The government wants to introduce double price tags as soon as possible, so that people get used to the new currency, Finance Minister Andrej Bajuk told the press on Thursday. The date will be set once the Government Institute for Macroeconomic Analyses and Development (IMAD) completes a cost analysis, but this will definitely happen some time this year.
"Once the government decides to request that retailers have to introduce double price labels, we will use the mean exchange rate of the Bank of Slovenia," Bajuk said. Translating prices into euros may not become a covert way of raising prices, he stressed.
Slovenia entered the euro grooming phase, the ERM II exchange rate mechanism, in June 2004. Once The ERM II period expires, Slovenia will enter the pre-introduction period, according to Bajuk. This period is set to begin in September or October 2006 with the elimination of derogation from certain provisions of the EU's economic and monetary policies.
At about the same time, the central bank will have to set a fixed euro-tolar exchange rate. Euros will be introduced on 1 January 2007 and bills will be replaced within a week. The Bank of Slovenia will accept old notes without any time limitation, according to the finance minister.
One part of euro preparations is the selection of images to be stamped on the heads of the euro coins. According to EU law, countries can introduce the euro without national images on the coins, but Bajuk said the government will do its best to have everything ready in time.
Preparations for the adoption of the euro are supervised by a coordinating committee co-chaired by the Finance Ministry and the Bank of Slovenia. It includes ministries, the Chamber of Commerce, the Ljubljana Stock Exchange and other financial market players.
More articles from this issue:
Archive
|