Plans are being finalised for the extensive and wide-ranging information campaign on the euro that is expected to be launched in the coming weeks, The Malta Independent has learnt.

Five information officers (who are paid by the European Commission) have been employed to ensure that the strategy is successful and the National Euro Changeover Committee will be making use of substantial financial assistance from the EU.

The financial agreement was signed last week by Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and EU Commissioner Joaquin Almunia.

The exact amount Malta will be getting is not known.

“Following analysis of various euro changeover communications strategies carried out in 2002 by the now eurozone countries, we have managed to build up ours on the basis of using what was successful and discarding what was not,” said National Euro Changeover Committee spokesman Melvyn Mangion.

“This helped us not to commit other countries’ errors and to benefit from what had worked. Ireland is our role model, because the changeover there was so smooth,” he said.

The changeover will affect everyone, of all ages, social class and education levels. Bearing this in mind, the communications strategy has been designed to cover all society, Mr Mangion added.

“The NECC has been strengthened with the recruitment of information officers. These will be the euro experts and they will be responsible for providing information and delivering the correct information about the changeover to the public,” he said.

“The education campaign will use traditional media forms – TV, radios, newspapers, publications, websites, help-lines – but we will also be setting up information tents in villages and holding public meetings.

“Each information officer has been entrusted with a target sector, such as consumers, businesses, training the trainers and vulnerable groups. The latter include the elderly, children, the disabled and other minority groups,” said Mr Mangion.

The NECC spokesman confirmed that the information campaign will be launched in June and will pick up momentum as E-day approaches.

NECC representatives were in Austria last week for a seminar during which euro zone countries shared their experiences on the changeover to the euro.

Austria is considered to have carried out a very smooth changeover, also due to the fact that it was the only country where dual pricing was obligatory.