Slovenia adopted the euro yesterday, becoming the first former communist state to join the EU's common currency.
Central bank governor Mitja Gaspari made the first withdrawal of euros from Slovenia's central bank, holding up 10, 20 and 50 euro notes, as well as some Slovenian euro coins, to watching reporters.
Slovenia is the 13th EU state to use the euro.
Its adoption of the common currency comes five years after euro bills and coins were introduced, almost three years after Slovenia acceded to the EU, and 15 years after Slovenia declared independence from the former Yugoslavia.
The euro replaces the tolar, a currency introduced in 1991 as a symbol of the tiny country's independence and an instrument aimed at cutting Belgrade's monetary control over the Slovenian economy.
"We are replacing something good, with something even better," Slovenian Finance Minister Andrej Bajuk said on Friday as he announced that preparations for the changeover had concluded.
Under the exchange rate, one euro will equal 239.64 tolars.
"The euro isn't important only for our economy, we also expect psychological benefits ... we are coming closer to the most developed part of the EU and this will give [citizens] confidence," Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa said in a recent interview.
Accession to the eurozone is a coup for Slovenia as it is the only one of the 10 countries -- eight former Communist states plus Malta and Cyprus -- that joined in 2004 to have met the tough Maastricht criteria on public finances, inflation, interest and exchange rates that are required for newcomers.
After EU finance ministers gave Slovenia the green light last July to join the euro, the government and central bank had to carry out wide preparations for the switch, such as minting Slovenian euro coins and distributing bills to banks.
"I believe we are well-prepared," Gaspari said on Friday. "There will be no trouble concerning cash in circulation."
The central bank plans to put into circulation around 1 billion euros (US$1.3 billion) in bills and coins to replace the 215 billion tolars (some 900 million euros) currently circulating in this central European state of 2 million people.
Banks were closed on Saturday and were to re-open tomorrow, with the exception of 52 bank offices in 42 cities and towns that were due to open yesterday and today to change tolars into euros.
The changeover to the single European currency foresees that tolars and euros will circulate simultaneously for only the first two weeks of this month.
To prevent a rounding upward of prices as has happened when other nations changed over to the euro, the government introduced last March the double labelling of prices, in euros and tolars, and this will remain in force for six months.
Despite this measure, inflation last month increased by 0.4 percent from the previous month, pushing 12-month inflation, in unadjusted terms, to end at 2.8 percent, compared to 2.3 percent registered in December 2005.
Slovenia's Consumer Association reported on Friday that during the last week before the changeover prices in some fast-food restaurants in the capital Ljubljana increased between 6 and 20 percent and prices for parking in the center of the city were also expected to rise.
Cyprus and Malta are expected to follow Slovenia into the eurozone next year and Slovakia is aiming to adopt the single currency in 2009.
The Czech Republic is now aiming to join the euro in 2012 and Hungary in 2013.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS