‘Euro watchdog was a toothless tiger’

THIS YEAR’S oil crisis and spiralling food costs made it very difficult to monitor fair pricing during the transition over to the euro. Add to this the inability of the watchdog to punish offenders and the overall results were disappointing.

This was the verdict delivered by the head of the Nicosia Euro Observatory, Argyris Papanastasiou, in a news conference yesterday.

Speaking on the occasion of the expiration of the Fair Pricing Code, where 2,267 Nicosia companies participated, Papanastasiou said the swift increase in the prices of petrol and cereal products meant the proper controls and checks could not be carried out.

The Fair Pricing Code, aimed at minimising profiteering up to and during the currency changeover did not have the outcome expected regarding the maintaining of prices.

“If we had the [power to] impose fines perhaps the Euro Observatory would be more effective in the operation and more efficient in the ascertainment of unjustifiable pricing”

Papanastasiou reported that “the observatory had sixteen meetings where more than two hundred 200 cases were examined. Of these, 140 cases concerned charges for unjustifiable increase of prices, of which 60 were sent to the Consumers’ Protection Association because they concerned suppliers that were not participating in Fair Pricing Code”.

Sixty-four cases concerned charges over dual pricing and the remainder various issues such as failing to accept pounds during the period of parallel circulation, and also failing to accept euro notes of high denominations.

The head of the Euro Observatory said that in nine other cases, an increase in prices was noted but retailers shaped up after being warned they would have their accreditation revoked and the ‘fair trader’ sticker removed from their outlet

Papanastasiou said he believed the contribution of the Euro Observatory in the smooth transition from the pound to the euro “had been substantial”, and reported that the extension of the period for the dual pricing “will not offer anything more”.

Regarding the proposed extension of double pricing, Papanastasiou said that, “this issue has been worn out, people are completely familiar and the extension of double pricing has nothing more to offer”

Cypriots are completely familiar with the euro and the extension of dual pricing has nothing more to offer, Papanastasiou added.

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