Euro converters to all houeholds by November

The Cyprus government will distribute euro converter calculators to every household in Cyprus by November as part of the euro-awareness campaign ahead of the full adoption of the euro on January 1, 2008.

Finance Minister Michalis Sarris said the euro-awareness plan is continuing as planned with emphasis now placed on informing rural areas about the euro, which is done through the euro-buses touring remote villages.

“More than 290 rural villages will have been covered by the euro-busses,” said Sarris, who added that the Ministry of Finance has extended the deadline for firms to sign up to the Fair Pricing Code until the end of November.
School pupils and soldiers were also being taken care of under the campaign, and so were people with special needs, Sarris said. Next week at a ceremony at the Blind School, the Ministry will present a special booklet about the euro written in Braille for those with impaired sight.

During a press conference, Ministry of Finance officials presented the Ministry’s upgraded web site on the euro changeover (www.euro.cy).
Sarris said acceptance of the single currency was growing among Cypriots, who have been the most reluctant of all EU citizens to see the introduction of the euro.
The majority of Cypriots fear profiteering as a result of euro adoption and the government has been at pains to try and reassure people that unjustified increases would be investigated and the culprits punished.
Sarris said that with only two months to go, the number of people accepting the euro was growing, and that by the time it was introduced most people would be ready.
He said it was somewhat unfortunate that the island’s accession to the eurozone coincided with major hikes in the global price of oil and cereals, which would be reflected in a higher inflation rate in 2008.
“But we believe the connection between our integration in the eurozone with this phenomenon will not be so big that it will cause concern,” he said.
As part of the awareness plan, the government with the backing of the European Commission and the Central Bank of Cyprus will send euro converter calculators to 300.000 households in Cyprus by November, while additional leaflets will be distributed when the next electricity bills are sent, with emphasis on safety issues related to the introduction of the euro.