The European Commission (EC) has again chosen Malta’s euro changeover committee to provide information and guidance to yet another EU member State, Slovakia, which hopes to start using the single European currency by January 2009.

The National Euro Changeover Committee (NECC) hosted a delegation from Cyprus about four months ago, after the EC asked the committee to pass on information to their Cypriot counterparts regarding euro changeover measures.

The Cypriot euro team actually flew to Malta in May to meet NECC officers, following which Cyprus launched a system similar to Malta’s Fair-pricing Agreements In Retailing (Fair).

Malta’s Mediterranean neighbour will also be changing over to the single European currency next January, but Malta had proven to be way ahead with regard to preparations for the changeover.

The NECC will be hosting a delegation from the National Bank of Slovakia, who will be familiarising themselves with initiatives undertaken by the local changeover committee.

A journalist and cameraman from the Slovak national television station are also currently in Malta to interview a few personalities that are directly involved in the euro changeover process, as well as a few Fair-accredited shop owners.

These include NECC chairman Joseph F.X. Zahra, William Portelli, chairman of the committee’s consumer sector sectoral committee, NECC executive director Alan Camilleri, economist Edward Scicluna, Kevin Borg, director general at the Chamber of Commerce and Enterprise, Melvyn Mangion, media and public relations manager at NECC, euro assistant Oriana Micallef, Winston J. Zahra from Island Hotel Groups and Victor Galea Salomone from VJ Salomone (Marketing) Limited.

Island Hotels Group and VJ Salomone (Marketing) Limited are the two organisations that have so far signed Price Stability Agreements with the NECC.

The Price Stability Agreement goes beyond the commitments of the Fair-pricing Agreements In Retailing scheme, to which almost 6,000 businesses are now affiliated.

The Price Stability Agreement is intended as a tool to ensure price transparency, boost consumer confidence and keep on promoting fair pricing.

On 24 July, the committee’s Euro Observatory signed an agreement with Island Hotels Group, the owners of which have agreed to freeze all their food and beverage prices until April 2008, as a clear message to consumers in the run up to the adoption of the euro.

VJ Salomone (Marketing) Limited signed the agreement a day later and the owners have agreed to freeze prices of their Procter & Gamble products between October this year and March next year.

The delegation from the National Bank of Slovakia, which includes the bank’s research department director Martin Suster, arrives in Malta on Sunday.

Mr Suster and two other bank employees will be holding meetings with NECC officers and will also follow presentations on Malta’s multi-annual communications, strategy, the national training strategy, the media and public relations management framework, the business awareness campaign and the euro curriculum in schools, among others.