Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, THE European Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and the European Central Bank - Seventh Report on the practical preparations for the future enlargement of the euro area {SEC(2008) 2306}
Date: 2008-07-18
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: Economic and Monetary Union, Slovakia, euro, euro area, monetary integration

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COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 

Brussels, 18.7.2008 
COM(2008) 480 final 

COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL, THE 
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE, THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS AND THE EUROPEAN 
CENTRAL BANK 

Seventh report on the practical preparations for the future enlargement of the euro area 

{SEC(2008) 2306} 

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COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL, THE 
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 
COMMITTEE AND, COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS AND THE EUROPEAN 
CENTRAL BANK 

Seventh report on the practical preparations for the future enlargement of the euro area 

1. 

INTRODUCTION 

As of January 2008, the euro area comprises 15 out of 27 Member States of the EU. Among 
the remaining 12 countries, 10 are the 'Member States with derogation' which are expected to 
adopt  the  euro  once  they  fulfil  the  conditions  prescribed  by  the  Treaty.1  Denmark  and  the 
United Kingdom are not bound to adopt the euro. 

In  addition  to  meeting  the  convergence  criteria,  the  countries  need  to  undertake  extensive 
practical preparations in order  to prepare all sectors of  their economies, administrations and 
citizens  for  the  introduction  of  the  euro.  In  order to  facilitate  countries'  preparations  for  the 
changeover,  the  Commission  has  built  on  the  experience  acquired  in  the  course  of  the 
introduction of euro cash in 2002, 2007 and 2008 in order to prepare a 'Recommendation on 
measures  to  facilitate  future  changeovers  to  the  euro'2.  The  countries  preparing  for  the 
changeover are all invited to take this Recommendation into account.  

The present Report assesses the state of play of the practical preparations for the changeover 
in Slovakia which will enter the euro area on 1 January 2009, following the Council's decision 
concluding that it fulfils the necessary conditions for the adoption of the euro. The attached 
Commission  Working  Paper  provides  for  details  on  the  preparations  in  the  other  Member 
States concerned.  

2. 

STATE OF PREPARATIONS IN SLOVAKIA  

Slovakia will adopt the euro on 1 January 2009 under a 'big bang' scenario.  

The  National  Plan  for  the  Introduction  of  the  Euro  adopted  in  July  2005  set  the  general 
framework for practical preparations for the changeover and specified the tasks of the various 
sectors of the economy and public administration. The Plan was updated in March 2007 and 
in April 2008.  

The  regulatory  framework  of  the  changeover  was  set  in  an  'umbrella  law'3.  This  text  was 
discussed extensively with the European Commission, as the law was also intended to remove 

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The fulfilment of the 'Maastricht' convergence criteria is regularly assessed by the Commission and the 
ECB  in  the  convergence  reports.  The  latest  convergence  report  (COM  (2008)248)  was  adopted  on  7 
May 2008. 
Commission Recommendation of 10 January 2008 on measures to facilitate future changeovers to the 
euro (2008/78/EC). 
Act  No.659/2007  Coll.  of  28  November  2007  on  the  introduction  of  the  euro  in  Slovakia  and 
amendments to certain acts. 

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all  incompatibilities  and  imperfections  identified  in  the  previous  convergence  reports.  The 
'umbrella law' defines the principles and rules to be respected during the cash and non-cash 
changeover  (e.g.  continuity  of  contracts,  price  neutrality  and  protection  of  the  economic 
interests of citizens, compulsory dual display of prices), designates the control bodies, sets the 
sanctions  for  potential  breaches  of  the  rules  and  provides  for  the  necessary  amendments  of 
other legal texts.  

2.1. 

Steering and organisation of the changeover 

The steering body of the preparations is the National Coordination Committee (NCC), chaired 
by the Minister of Finance (the National Coordinator) and co-chaired by the Governor of the 
National Bank of Slovakia (NBS). The NCC supervises the fulfilment of the National Plan for 
the Introduction of the Euro. 

The  government  has  also  created  an  ad-hoc  post  of  'Government  Plenipotentiary  for  the 
Introduction  of  the  Euro',  who  should  coordinate  day-to-day  preparations  and  point  at 
eventual problems. The technical details of the preparations are discussed at the level of five 
Working Committees; each of them being supervised by a different Ministry or the NBS. 

The Working Committees held regular meetings and report on their activities to the NCC and 
to  the  Plenipotentiary  at  least  every  three  months.  Each  committee  is  composed  of 
representatives of relevant government and non-government organisations. 

•  Slovakia has respected the provision of Article 1 of the Recommendation 2008/78/EC: 
'Member  States  should  set  up  appropriate  and  dedicated  structures  to  plan, 
coordinate  and  facilitate  all  the  necessary  preparation  for  the  introduction  of  the 
euro'.  

•  There  are  however  some  doubts  on  the  efficiency  of  the  existing  coordination 
structure.  The  NCC  is  set  at  a  very  high  political  level  and  can  not  really  enter  the 
technicalities.  The  office  of  the  Plenipotentiary  has  a  very  limited  staff  and  focuses 
therefore  mainly  on  communication  issues.  The  central  monitoring  of  Slovakia's 
preparations  to  the  euro  should  be  reinforced  with  a  view  to  improving  the 
coordination of the actors and being able to solve efficiently potential crisis situations. 

2.2. 

Preparations of public administration 

The  preparations  of  State  administration  bodies,  regional  administrations  and  municipalities 
are steered by the Working Committee for Public Administration. The National Coordinator 
recommended  all  administrative  bodies  to  create  euro  coordination  teams.  A  study  on 
preparations for IT systems conversion made for the Committee shows, that as of June 2008, 
almost  80%  of  central,  regional  and  local  administration  bodies  had  a  list  of  IT  systems 
requiring  adaptation;  but  only  18%  had  actually  launched  tests  of  the  newly  converted 
systems. This early audit was intended to motivate the public administration bodies to launch 
the preparations: the results of the next screening rounds are expected to present substantial 
improvements. 

Central and regional administrative bodies have their own staff training strategies and they are 
working on adapting the official forms, reference values and thresholds. The State budget is 
under  preparation  in  Slovak  koruna  and  will  be  recalculated  into  euro.  The  costs  of 
preparation for the changeover were incorporated into the 2008-2009 budgets. According to 

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the  provisions  of  the  'umbrella  law'  all  citizens'  payments  to  the  public  budgets  are  to  be 
rounded down, whereas the expenses of the public budgets are to be rounded up. 

•  Slovakia  has  elaborated  a  comprehensive  strategy  for  the  adaptation  of  the 

administration to the euro.  

•  More  attention  should  nevertheless  be  paid  to  the  practical  training  of  the  officials 

dealing with cash and/or in direct contact with the public.  

2.3. 

Ensuring a quick introduction of euro cash 

The  preparations  for  the  introduction  of  euro  cash  and  the  withdrawal  of  koruna  cash  from 
circulation are under the competence of the National Bank of Slovakia. 

•  Euro notes and coins needed 

In order to replace Slovak koruna cash in circulation, the NBS has ordered 188 million euro 
banknotes  and  500  million  euro  coins.  The  banknotes  will  be  borrowed  from  the  Austrian 
National Bank while the coins will be minted by the Slovak Mint of Kremnica. The Mint of 
Kremnica  has  performed  successfully  the  trial  strikes  for  the  production  of  the  Slovak  euro 
coins.  The  production  and  storage  facilities  will  shortly  move  to  the  reconstructed  premises 
fulfilling  high  security  standards.  Since  the  Mint  is  experienced  in  supplying  high  volume 
orders to foreign clients, it should not encounter any difficulties in minting the Slovak euro 
coins.  

•  Withdrawal of national cash from circulation 

The NBS expects a return of some 165 million banknotes and 425 million coins (with a total 
weight of 1900 tons). To ensure sufficient storage and processing capacities, Slovak koruna 
cash  destruction  will  start  before  the  beginning  of  the  frontloading  period.  The  retrieved 
koruna  notes  will  be  stored  and  destroyed  in  the  NBS  premises,  while  the  coins  will  be 
concentrated and demonetised mainly in the Mint of Kremnica.  

•  Frontloading and sub-frontloading of banks 

The frontloading of commercial banks with euro cash will start in October 2008. The NBS 
will open a special remote branch in charge of coordinating the frontloading of euro coins in 
the  premises  of  the  Mint  of  Kremnica.  The  NBS  signed  the  frontloading  contracts  with  16 
commercial  banks.  The  contracts  are  based  on  the  May  2008  banks'  estimations  of 
frontloading  euro  cash  needs.  The  ordered  amounts  of  banknotes  are  rather  low:  51  million 
euro banknotes representing 27% of the total of 188 million which the NBS estimates to put 
in  circulation  (compared  to  92.5%  in  Malta,  80%  in  Cyprus  and  an  average  of  67%  for  the 
countries of the first group of euro area participants). The orders of euro coins raised by 60% 
between September 2007 and March 2008 to 320 million pieces (64% of planned issued euro 
coins). The NBS expects additional orders of both banknotes and coins in the coming months. 
The majority of banknotes and coins (81.5% and 75% respectively) will be frontloaded to the 
three biggest commercial banks. 

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The  low  frontloading  orders  are  partly  an  indirect  consequence  of  the  limited  interest  that 
businesses have manifested for the sub-frontloading. In March 2008, only 12 000 enterprises 
(16%  out  of  the  total  number  of  73  000  enterprises  working  with  cash)  had  expressed  an 
interest  for  being  sub-frontloaded.  Slovakia  has  decided  not  to  produce  special  euro  coin 
starter kits for businesses though it is part of the Commission Recommendation 2008/78/EC. 
Hence  SMEs  can  only  obtain  sufficient  amounts  of  euro  cash  for  the  first  days  through  the 
signature  of  a  special  contract  with  a  bank.  Additional  efforts  with  a  view  to  increasing  the 
sub-frontloading volume should therefore be made. The use of the recently adopted simplified 
ECB guideline on sub-frontloading should be encouraged. 

The  euro  cash  transports  for  sub-frontloading  will  be  mostly  done  by  experienced  private 
cash-in-transit  companies  (CITs).  The  NBS  offers  free  of  charge  transport  facilities  for  big 
cash orders. The transport of cash to the NBS will be always accompanied by the State police. 
Police  escorts  are  not  foreseen  at  this  stage  for  the  transport  of  cash  to/from  commercial 
banks.  

•  Sub-frontloading of citizens 

Slovakia  originally  did  not  envisage  providing  euro  coins  mini-kits  for  the  general  public. 
Following  an  extensive  debate  with  the  Commission,  the  authorities  decided  to  include  the 
production of mini-kits in the April 2008 update of the National Plan. Citizens will therefore 
have the possibility to buy  mini-kits  worth 500 SKK  (approximately €16.60). The NBS has 
ordered  1.2  million  mini-kits  which  may  however  turn  to  be  insufficient .  The  experience 
from  the  previous  changeovers  shows  that  approximately  one  mini-kit  per  household  was 
usually  sold  (Slovakia  has  some  2  million  households).  Furthermore,  as  the  production  of 
retailer  starter-kits  is  not  envisaged,  SMEs  might  be  also  interested  in  buying  mini-kits.  An 
additional order of mini-kits should therefore be considered.  

Contrary to the practices used in Cyprus and Malta, the commercial banks in Slovakia do not 
envisage  providing  for  exchanges  at  the  official  conversion  rate  without  fees  before  €-day. 
The dishoarding campaign for citizens should start in July 2008. Some problems may appear 
within the elderly people (approximately 1 million persons) who often hoard cash and rarely 
use  the  electronic  means  of  payments.  The  electronic  means  of  payment  are  already  being 
promoted;  no  special  campaign  to  increase  their  use  during  the  changeover  is  therefore 
envisaged.  

•  Exchange and withdrawal of cash after €-day 

In order to facilitate the cash changeover, the NBS and commercial banks plan extra opening 
hours in the first days of January 2009. The banks will open for cash exchanges on 1 January 
(which  is  normally  a  State  holiday)  as  well  as  on  the  weekend  days  of  3-4  January.  Some 
branches  will  open  special  counters  for  businesses  and  reinforce  their  front-office  with 
employees coming from the back-office. The amounts exchanged/withdrawn during the dual 
circulation  period  will  be  free  of  any  charge  or  volume  restriction.  The  NBS  and  the 
commercial  banks  are  aware  of  the  Commission  recommendation  to  distribute  only  small 
denomination  banknotes  via  ATMs  as  well  as  over-the-counter  in  the  first  days  before  and 
after €-day.  

The banks are regularly training their staff for the introduction of the euro and some of them 
provide training facilities to their major clients. Many banks have created special euro related 
web sites.  

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Virtually all 2172 ATMs in Slovakia should dispense only euro banknotes (mainly €10 and 
€20) by 2 a.m. on 1 January. Specia l attention will be paid to centrally located ATMs so that 
they are well supplied with Slovak koruna notes before midnight and with euro cash shortly 
after. The ATMs which, for technical reasons, will not be adapted on time will be closed. All 
26 800 POS terminals should be able to work in euro as of €-day.   

According to the 'umbrella law', the change in shops should be given in euro only as of €-
day. The law also protect retailers from being used as exchange offices: a payment in Slovak 
koruna can be refused if the total nominal value of the notes and coins is more than four times 
higher than the price to be paid (in the previous changeovers, customers sometimes tried to 
pay with high denomination banknotes for small purchases in view of getting rid of their old 
national cash).  

The  provisions  of  the  Recommendation  2008/78/EC  on  the  conversion  of  ATMs,  POS 
terminals, giving change and special bank opening hours are respected. 

Slovakia  has  designated  the  authorities  competent  for  the  protection  of  the  euro  against 
counterfeiting. In particular, Slovakia established a National Central Office at the Ministry of 
Interior as well as a national analysis centre (banknotes) and a coin national analysis centre, 
both situated within the NBS. Slovakia also participates at the regular training actions under 
the  Pericles  programme.  The  NBS  and  commercial  banks  have  ordered  the  necessary 
equipment to control the authenticity of euro banknotes.  

•  The  preparations  of  the  financial  and  banking  sectors  for  the  changeover  are  well 
advanced.  With  a  view  to  avoiding  logistical  problems  in  the  first  days  after  the 
changeover,  a  significant  additional  effort  should  be  made  to  increase  frontloading 
and sub-frontloading volumes.  

•  Retailers should in particular be invited to use the simplified contract foreseen by the 

new ECB guideline on subfrontloading.  

•  Appropriate  measures  should  be  taken  to  ensure  a  high  level  of  security  for  all  the 

cash transports during the weeks before and after the changeover.  

•  Special attention should be paid to the preparation of small retailers and vulnerable 
groups  (e.g.  distribution  of  appropriate  information  material  to  elderly  people)  for 
the cash changeover.  

2.4. 

Preventing abusive practices and erroneous perception of the evolution of prices 
by the citizens  

According to the latest Eurobarometer survey, 72% of Slovak citizens fear price increases and 
abuses  at  the  occasion  of  the  changeover4.  Dispelling  these  fears  remains  one  of  the  main 
challenges for the Slovak authorities in the run up to the changeover.  

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See Flash Eurobarometer 237, May 2008 

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The Strategy for the Protection of Consumers adopted by the NCC set the general framework 
of  consumers'  protection  during  the  changeover.  The  Strategy  is  based  on  two  pillars: 
informing the citizens and monitoring and controlling prices.  

The  dual  display  of  prices  is  an  important  tool  which  should  help  consumers  to  get 
accustomed  to  the  new  currency  and  the  new  scale  of  values.  The  Government  has  set  the 
rules  for  dual  display  in  the  Regulation  of  27  March  2008,  while  the  National  Bank  of 
Slovakia has adopted the rules applicable for the financial sector. The obligatory dual display 
will start one month after the irrevocable conversion rate is adopted and last until the end of 
2009.  Retailers  can  use  the  dual  display  on  a  voluntary  basis  for  an  additional  period  of  6 
months.  

•  Fair pricing initiative 

The Government Plenipotentiary together with the Association of Slovak Entrepreneurs have 
launched an 'Ethical Code' project. The Code bounds its adherents to respect the rules of the 
changeover and not to abuse it for their own profit. It has been signed by some 1000 market 
players, towns, municipalities and regional administrations. A big public event is planned for 
the presentation of the logo identifying the subscribers of the Code.  

•  Price monitoring and control  

The Slovak Trade Inspection (SOI) will be the main body in charge of the price monitoring. 
It  is  entitled  to  deliver  warnings,  charge  penalties  and  enforce  its  decisions5.  The  SOI  will 
control:  the  correct  dual  display  of  prices,  the  respect  of  the  rounding  rules  and  the  correct 
application of the conversion rate. It will also monitor the price neutrality of the changeover 
and  the  prohibition  of  any  inclusion  of  the  costs  of  the  changeover  into  the  prices,  as 
prescribed  by  the  'umbrella  law'.  The  euro-related  controls  will  take  place  during  the  whole 
dual display of prices period as well as for some months after. The controls will be developed 
via  either  a  mystery  shopping  (a  special  attention  will  be  paid  to  small  shops  and  shops  in 
remote areas) or via targeted control, following a complaint from a citizen. Complaints will be 
collected via a special 'euro' phone line, e-mail, fax or personally in the SOI regional offices. 
A press release on the results of the controls will be published every two weeks. 

The SOI has currently 262 staff members, out of which 150 work 'in the field'. The current 
staff may not be sufficient to cover the whole country. 

If a breach of any applicable law is detected, the SOI will inquire with the retailer to find out 
the reason. Any doubtful price change will be compared with the long term trends, the prices 
of the same product in other shops and considered within the broader context (e.g. applicable 
prices of inputs). If a price increase proves to be unjustified, the SOI will first ask the retailer 
to revert to the former price. The next step will be to issue a warning and, eventually, to open 
an  infringement  procedure.  The  time  limit  for  the  final  decision  in  infringement  procedures 
was  set  at  30  days  (plus  30  days  for  a  decision  of  appeal).  The  'umbrella  law'  provides  for 
fines  of  up  to  €  60  000  for  a  retailer  or  a 
legal  person.  An  individual  who  is  directly 
responsible for an infringement can be fined up to € 3000. 

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Only 8 other national authorities in the EU have comparably large competencies 

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The price controls of the SOI are complemented with a price monitoring scheme by consumer 
organisations.  Inspectors-volunteers  should  monitor  the  prices  of  selected  products  in  some 
350 retail outlets. An inspector would visit the selected shop twice per month and monitor the 
prices of the same set of products. The results of the monitoring together with the names of 
shops where the prices increased should be published on a special web site.  

The conception of the scheme needs to be improved. Monitoring the same set of products at 
regular intervals in the same shops will not give an accurate image of the general situation (as 
observed in Cyprus this year)6 because the behaviour of the shops concerned will presumably 
be distorted by the very existence of the monitoring. The lack of random control risks hiding 
price increases in other shops. Limiting the name and shame to a very small number of shops 
is also both unfair and of little help. 

As  far  as  the  official  statistical  monitoring  of  prices  is  concerned,  the  Statistical  Office  of 
Slovakia  will  monitor  the  prices  of  frequently  purchased  goods  during  the  whole  period  of 
dual  display.  As  of  June  2008,  it  will  publish  a report  every  10  days.  The  Statistical  Office 
will also monitor public perceptions of inflation and the impact of the information campaign. 

•  The  'Ethical  Code'  should  be  promoted  very  widely  and  actively  as  the  existing 

number of subscribers is very low.  

•  Quick  reactions  and  an  active  communication  with  media  are  absolutely  crucial  for 
fighting  efficiently  citizens'  fears  of  price  increases.  The  bodies  in  charge  of  price 
monitoring and control should be able to react as soon as they receive a complaint. If 
the  deadline  for  delivering  a  final  decision  in  infringement  procedures  cannot  be 
shortened, the preliminary steps taken by control bodies should be published quickly. 
The price monitoring activities of the SOI are well prepared: it is important to ensure 
it will have sufficient resources to implement it throughout the whole country. 

•  The monitoring scheme foreseen by the consumer associations needs some significant 

adaptations.  

•  Any  administrative  freezing  of  prices  or  equivalent  market  distortive  measures  – 
notably for food products - should be avoided : such practices only delay the normal 
price  increases  due  to  the  evolution  of  the  world  markets  and  distort  the  inflation 
perception,  as  they  would  inevitably  occur  in  one  shot  at  the  end  of  the  freezing 
period instead of being naturally smoothened over a certain number of months.  

•  The  envisaged  use  of  penal  sanctions  for  euro  related  price  abuses  needs  also  to  be 
clarified, as it does not appear very logical to limit it to regulated prices, for which the 
administration has already, by definition, a very strong leverage.  

2.5. 

Preparations of enterprises for the changeover 

The preparations of enterprises for the changeover are overseen and supported by the Ministry 
of  Economy  and  its  National  Agency  for  the  Development  of  Small  and  Medium  Sized 
Enterprises  (NADSME).  The  main  activities  of  NADSME  consist  of  building  an  advisory 

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According to available information, retailers knew in advance what were the prices followed in one of 
the price monitoring schemes, and have adapted their pricing strategy accordingly.  

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capacity  at  regional  level  (in  cooperation  with  the  Regional  Business  Information  Centres 
network  (RPICs)),  organising  information  seminars  for  SMEs  and  preparing  information 
materials (e.g. brochures, manuals etc.). 

According  to  the  Commission  survey  on  the  preparations  of  SMEs  for  the  changeover 
conducted in June 2008, 80% of companies have already launched their preparations. About 
two-thirds  of  companies  have  defined  the  necessary  computer  adaptation  (67%);  a  similar 
number  have  informed  their  staff  (65%)  and  almost  half  have  identified  the  impact  in  the 
different areas of the enterprise (49%). Some 70% of companies will outsource the necessary 
computer adaptations to a specialized company; most companies do not expect any problems 
related  to  the  necessary  changes  to  IT  systems  (82%).  Almost  90%  of  companies  feel  very 
well or rather well informed about the changeover. 

The majority of companies claim that they will convert their prices from Slovak koruna into 
euro  using  the  exact  conversion  rules  (45%).  22%  plan  to  use  an  overall  neutral  approach 
(adjusting some prices upwards and some downwards). A significant proportion of companies 
intend to adjust their prices mostly upwards (14%), though such an approach would contradict 
the  law.  This  proportion  is  significantly  higher  than  the  one  observed  in  Cyprus  (3%)  and 
Slovenia (6%).  

This  survey  was  intentionally  conducted  at  an  early  stage  for  raising  the  awareness  of  the 
businesses  on  the  need  to  launch  or  speed  up  the  preparations.  The  businesses  have  the 
possibility to take part in numerous thematic seminars organised by NADSME and/or to seek 
help from an RPIC.  

•  The  authorities  should  ensure  that  all  SMEs  are  sufficiently  informed  about  the 

changeover and get appropriate support.  

•  The progress of preparations of SMEs should be regularly monitored with a view to 

identifying and addressing quickly potential problems.  

2.6. 

Communication activities and public opinion 

The  updated  and  enriched  national  Communication  Strategy  on  Euro  Adoption  in  Slovakia 
was  adopted  on  17  October  2007.  It  was  prepared  by  the  Working  Committee  on 
Communication.  

Following a complex tendering procedure, an external communication agency was selected in 
November 2007 to implement the major part of the national Strategy, whilst complementary 
communication  activities  are  performed  by  the  National  Bank  of  Slovakia,  the  Ministry  of 
Finance, the Government and other public administration bodies. In close co-operation with 
its  partners,  including  the  European  Commission,  the  Slovak  authorities  developed  a 
comprehensive communication campaign that will use a multitude of channels, reaching out 
to  a  wide  range  of  target  groups.  The  main  themes  of  the  strategy  relate  to  the  consecutive 
steps  of  the  changeover,  the  benefits  of  the  euro  and  the  consumer  protection  against  price 
abuses.  

The  Slovak  authorities  decided  to  postpone  the  launch  of  a  fully  fletched  information 
campaign until more certainty about Slovakia's compliance with the convergence criteria was 
achieved.  Nevertheless  some  preparatory  actions  were  implemented.  A  campaign  logo  was 
chosen  as  well  as  a  house  style  of  the  national  campaign.  Extra  communication  staff  was 

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recruited  both  in  the  National  Bank  of  Slovakia  and  the  Ministry  of  Finance  while  special 
attention was devoted to appointing experts to deal with specific target groups: children and 
youth,  the  elderly,  the  impaired  and  the  ethnic  minorities.  In  the  past  months,  the  Slovak 
authorities  have  hosted  regular  press  briefings  which  seems  to  bear  fruit  since  the  press  is 
better informed and less critical towards the changeover. To prepare the Slovak population for 
the  mass  campaign  in  the  second  half  of  2008  a  first  euro-related  TV  spot  was  launched  in 
March. 

this 

'umbrella  agreement', 

the  Commission  has  been  supporting 

The Commission signed a Partnership Agreement with the Slovak authorities on 7 December 
2007.  Under 
the 
communication  activities  by  providing  promotional  material,  lending  its  Euro  Exhibition 
(displayed in Bratislava and Košice in January-February 2008) and organising a seminar for 
Slovak journalists in Brussels (March 2008). Both parties have also signed a grant agreement 
on  20  December  2007.  Under  this  grant,  the  Commission  will  co-finance  a  number  of 
activities  until  the  end  of  July  2008  including  the  employment  of  communication  officers, 
various campaigns in media (e.g. for the Roma minority), a national euro help line, a national 
euro website, a "euro to schools" project and a training programme for the multipliers.  

The recent Flash Eurobarometer survey in the new Member States7 essentially confirms  the 
results of past years. The level of support for the euro in Slovakia remains above the average 
of the recently acceded Member States but the trend has been slightly negative since spring 
2007  (support  rate  stands  at  52%  compared  to  55%  in  September  2007  and  57%  in  April 
2007).  

The launch of the communication activities in Slovakia has had a multiple impact. The level 
of  self-perceived  information  jumped  up  by  17  percentage  points  to  the  highest  level  of  all 
countries covered (64% of Slovaks feel very or rather well informed compared to an average 
of 40%). The results also show a growing demand for information. The familiarity with some 
key features of the euro and EMU has again improved. 

•  Whilst being relatively positive on the euro introduction in general terms compared 
to other countries, the latest Slovak results also reflect a slightly growing scepticism in 
terms of expected consequences and benefits.  

•  The  forthcoming  intense  phase  of  the  information  campaign  will  thus  have  to  pay 
great attention to the citizen's concerns, in particular to those related to the evolution 
of prices in the run up to the changeover. 

7 

See Flash Eurobarometer 237, May 2008 

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