Does Euro really cause price-rise in Slovakia?

Most of the people surveyed think adopting Euro has increased the price level in Slovakia, reported the SITA newswire on 5 February 2009. The opinion poll conducted in January 2009 on the sample of 1027 Slovak citizens by AKO agency shows that one third of the population thinks the prices have indeen gone up.

43 % of survey respondents said the prices of products have risen „a little“, on the other hand, 26 % of Slovaks haven't noticed any price-rise. Almost one half of the surveyees (45 %) blame the price-rise on the global economic crisis, 37 % on the producers. Slovak government and politicians seem to be on the safe side – only 12% of the respondents think they are to blame. Approximately the same percentage stands behind the opinion that the Slovakia's EU membership caused the rising price level.

However, three quarters of Slovak population consider Euro's adoption a positive change and only 4% mentioned Euro has a negative effect on their lives.

Comparing the effects of Euro's adoption in Slovakia, the slight rise in prices for the new Eurozone citizens is being overshadowed by the benefits it has brought. And, in fact, in the time when other Central European currencies of Slovak neighbours keep weakening or collapsing, the relative stability of Euro takes the wind out of the sails of the complainers.

So to answer the initial question, yes, Euro does rise prices in Slovakia, but this fact has been expected (despite the constant reassuring from certain public figures about the opposite). Nevertheless, the price of not adopting Euro in Slovakia would now have been much, much higher.