campaign on the Euro changeover in the months ahead.

The agreement was signed yesterday in Brussels by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and EU Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Joaquin Almunia. The financial assistance will be primarily used to employ new information officers for the educational campaign and will also provide 50 per cent of its cost.

The Department of Information said that the agreement, which comes into force next month is for the duration of one year and negotiations have already began for a new agreement next year. In the coming weeks, the NECC will be intensifying its work to prepare the public and particular sectors in society for this change in currency. Every effort will be made for this campaign to reach everyone in various methods including TV and radio programmes, publications, an interactive website and public meetings, the DOI added.

The sectors identified in this campaign are the consumer, heads of small businesses and particular groups in society including the elderly, disabled persons and children. A programme with different initiatives has been drawn up to ensure that information for each sector arrives to all in the most efficient manner, the DOI concluded.