The changeover from the lira to the euro should not contribute to an increase in the cost of living, and the Malta Labour Party had presented a motion in Parliament to this effect, MLP deputy leader for parliamentary affairs Charles Mangion said yesterday.

The MLP motion deals with Legal Notice 4 of 2007, that includes extensive regulations to control the dual display system in the process leading to the changeover from the lira to the euro.

Dr Mangion said that these rules are not rigorous enough to ensure that the currency switch will not negatively affect the Maltese consumer.

Experience showed that wherever there was a change to the euro there was an increase in the cost of living. The MLP is therefore insisting that the government should assume political responsibility and use all its legal powers to safeguard Maltese consumers, apart from ensuring that the country’s competitiveness is not harmed.

Dr Mangion spoke about a series of amendments the MLP is proposing in order to change the said legal notice. Among them, the MLP said that it should include that fiscal receipts in euro should always be issued, more and more so when dual display becomes obligatory.

At the same time, the MLP understands that traders should not be burdened with expenses in this regard, and therefore if there is a cost for cash registers to issue fiscal receipts in the euro currency, these should be paid for by the government, Dr Mangion said.

He also referred to Article 28 of the Legal Notice, which states that the minister has the discretion of forgiving fines imposed by the court. This discretion goes beyond what is provided in the Euro Adoption Act and the MLP does not agree with this, Dr Mangion said.