As Slovenia prepares for its “big bang” shift to the euro next January, Brussels has warned its leaders to learn from old Europe’s mistakes and prevent price hikes by introducing ways to name and shame retailers who abuse the currency changeover.

Inflation tops the list of eurozone concerns among citizens in the new EU member states, while their overall support for the single currency has increased, according to a Eurobarometer published on Thursday.

About half (52 per cent) of respondents think that the euro will be positive for their country, compared to 38 per cent last September.

Slovenians are the most enthusiastic, with 64 per cent support, while Lithuania has recorded the lowest popular approval of 28 per cent.

The survey shows that 46 per cent of newcomers fear that the introduction of the euro will increase inflation in their country, while 60 per cent consider themselves badly-informed about the single currency.

Commission officials argue that there is a great gap between people’s perceptions of the euro-related effect on prices and the reality of the situation, due to the previous experience of the 12 current eurozone member states.

“We were warning about this risk before the first group of states entered the euro, but back then ministers didn’t listen to us. Now everybody is convinced this is a major challenge for countries that are preparing to join in,” one official commented.

Slovenia is the first of the new EU member states to join the euro in January 2007 and to test a range of new practical measures advised by Brussels on the basis of previous experience.

The country is due to receive a final go-ahead at the next meeting of EU finance ministers on 11 July, following the green light at the highest political level at last week’s summit of the bloc’s leaders.

At the July Ecofin session, finance ministers will hammer out the conversion rate at which the Slovenian tolar will be exchanged for the euro, with the commission due to announce its proposal for a six-digit figure next Wednesday.

As with all the other new member states, Slovenia has opted for a “big bang” cash changeover, which means that euro coins and notes will start circulating straight away without a transitional period, with retailers obliged to give change in euro from January onward.

Brussels warns that this may cause a headache for people and suggests the country’s authorities should urge banks to extend their working hours during the first two weeks following the shift, during which time they should also be obliged to change the tolar to the euro free of charge.

The commission has also suggested that Slovenian consumer associations and retailers should sign an agreement stating their commitment to prevent price abuses and readiness to “name and shame” those who violate it.

“It could work with special stickers that shops would put on their windows to highlight they have promised to be fair in euro pricing,” said the Brussels official, adding that consumer groups would be assigned to monitor retailers and publicise possible wrongdoings.

Unlike in the past, dual display of prices – in euro and the previous currency – will be obligatory in the new eurozone members.

This should help citizens acclimatise to the new currency, but Brussels warns the practice should not go on for too long – as is still the case in some shops in France for example.

“It is like learning a new language. For some time, you need subtitles to understand a film, but after a while they become counter-productive as you read them even if you don’t have to. At some point you need to withdraw from it,” an official commented.