The National Euro Changeover Committee has welcomed the publication of the third report on the practical preparations for the future enlargement of the euro area.

The report published today follows very closely the publication of the second updated masterplan by the NECC which outlines in detail the state of technical preparations of Malta.

The EU report outlines a number of areas where further technical preparations still need to be made and encourages the Maltese authorities to step up their preparations.

While agreeing with the Commission on the need to step up the preparatory requirements, the NECC said that the Commission did not consider in its report the details published last week in the Second Updated Master Plan on the euro changeover in Malta.

“The following areas have been incorrectly reported on by the Commission, namely:

The national side of the euro coin set was finalised on 9 June following the second consultation process;

Similarly, the Euro Adoption Bill has been published and is currently in its final stages of discussion in Parliament;

With regard to the agreements on price stability between retailers and consumers, the NECC said the Masterplan outlines the imminent publication of a Retailers’ Best Practice Initiative on the same lines as the Commission’s recommendation. This code of practice has just been though a consultation process with all stakeholders;

Finally, in terms of subfrontloading to the public, the Masterplan outlines the Bank’s plans to lift their full bank charges for euro exchange as from 1 December 2007.

NECC Chairman Joseph F.X. Zahra said: “The NECC welcomes the contents of the third report on the practical preparations.

It is apparent, that the timing of the publication of the Masterplan did no permit the Commission to study its contents in detail and update its report accordingly.

Nonetheless, as has already been publicly announced, the NECC will in the coming weeks step up its campaign efforts to ensure better preparedness of all the stakeholders.

“The NECC fully agrees with the recommendations made by the Commission on areas such as the need to establish clear agreements on Codes of Practices to ensure a smooth and fair changeover and on the importance of dual pricing periods.

We look forward to more and better work in the coming months with the valuable assistance of the consumer and retail sector to ensure that the changeover renders benefits and opportunities to everyone alike.”