EU officials praise Cyprus for smooth changeover to the Euro

President of the European Central Bank Jean Claude Trichet, Head of the Eurogroup Jean Claude Junker and EU Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Joaquin Almunia have noted the good preparation of Cyprus for its positive and normal changeover from the Cyprus pound to the Euro.

Cyprus Finance Minister Michalis Sarris, who represented Cyprus at the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) on Tuesday and at the Eurogroup meeting on Monday expressed gratitude to Almunia and his services, as well as to Greece, Ireland and Malta for the help they gave to Cypriot authorities in the framework of special agreements. He thanked former EU presidencies (German and Portuguese) for standing by Cyprus at the final stages of the changeover to the Euro.

Sarris expressed gratitude on behalf of all Cypriots, who as he said, even though they had at first doubts about this venture, they faced it with enthusiasm and had a positive approach during the changeover period. Within a few days the Euro became a currency widely used by consumers and enterprises, he said, adding that observatories, the dual display of prices and the fair pricing code functioned smoothly, despite the incidences of change abuses during the changeover from the Cyprus pound to the Euro

Referring to the prices and inflation, he said that some increases were recorded in Cyprus at the end of 2007 and at the beginning of this year, noting that this means that there will be a lower inflation compared to other countries in the past, as Slovenia.

Sarris also expressed concern over the world-wide inflation trends, underlining the need to combat them now instead of trying to solve the problems that will come up in the future.