Housewives urged to help ensure successful euro changeover

Changing liri into euros next year will bring about some problems but the authorities are on the right track, Walter Fuchs, deputy director general of Austria's Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs, believes.

"They are well prepared and we were very impressed with their professionalism," he said during a press conference at the National Euro Changeover Committee's office, in Birkirkara.

Dr Fuchs stressed that the public needs to be part of the changeover's success, adding that in Austria every housewife acted as a policeman.

"Consumers should be encouraged to start comparing prices in a bid to save money," he said.

This was reiterated by Wolfgang Pollan, an expert from the Austrian Institute of Economic Research, who will be helping the committee interpret the impact of the euro changeover on the local economy.

"We have to engage the consumer as an ally and urge him to shop around for the lowest prices," he said.

Dr Fuchs is part of an Austrian delegation in Malta to help the NECC with the euro changeover process following a €25,000 twinning agreement funded by the European Commission. The delegation is assisting the committee in the setting up of a price monitoring framework and increasing consumer confidence in price stability over the euro changeover period.

The two parties have already worked together to establish the legal framework governing dual pricing.

"Our main objective is to discuss best practice and possible problems," Dr Fuchs said, adding that local legislation shunning unfair practice was an excellent tool.

NECC chairman Joe F.X. Zahra said the Austrian changeover experience was considered as one of the most seamless of transactions.

Committee executive director Alan Camilleri said Austria is recognised as one of the few first wave euro area accession countries to successfully counter euro-related inflation in their euro changeover.

He said the NECC was already receiving a good number of complaints, which it was investigating, with most stemming from misunderstandings. In most cases the retailers were collaborating. He said the NECC was receiving between 120 and 140 applications from retailers to join the FAIR initiative - a commitment to display correct prices in lira and euro - daily.

Together with the Austrian experts, the NECC will be holding workshops, seminars and training with the Consumer and Competition Division and the Economic Policy Division to establish a process for sampling and analysing pricing data.