by Viktorija Plavcak
– Slovenia –
It has been almost two years since Slovenia became a full member of the European Union. On May 5th, 2005 we entered the European Union after years of pain-staking preparations and compliance with the requisite laws and regulations. The euphoria felt within the nation is indescribable.
The union with the former Yugoslavia brought nothing but debt and turned Slovenia into the milk cow for the entire Balkans region. The attack on Slovenia’s freedom turned the country into a fierce animal which fought tooth and nail until finally in 1991, its freedom and independence were secured.
Still, being so small, and without real resources, industry or developed agriculture, it was impossible to survive independently, cut off from the rest of the world. It therefore had to join another union, the European Union, where milk and honey are in abundance.
In 2006, on July 20th to be exact, the government passed the proposed law on the adoption of the Euro. A call for tenders was made. What will the Slovenian coins look like? No doubt, they will feature Slovenian national icons. Primož Trubar (the founder of Slovenian literature), France Prešeren (the greatest Slovenian poet), the Prince’s Stone and the Duke’s Chair, the ongoing dispute with the Austrians, a grudge to be carried for years to come.
One cannot imagine all the hassle with the adoption of the new currency. Banks needed a few days, a complimentary collectors’ issuance of coins was undertaken, a noble and deserving project. Plans for action were made by many banks. The national mint worked day in day out. ”The Big Bang” was ceremoniously celebrated in Cankarjev Dom (The House of Culture, named after our greatest novelist and dramatist, Ivan Cankar) with a lot of romp and pomp. Some 200 eminent European guests attended. The first Euros were withdrawn shortly after midnight by Andrej Vizjak, Slovenian Finance Minister, and Mitja Gaspari, the Governor of the Bank of Slovenia. The path was cleared—now the nation could follow. Yet another event to be recorded in the books of history.
But what does the adoption of the Euro bring? According to many experts and economists this should be a step forward. The European Union—one big happy family, a single currency, no frontiers, a free flow of human resources, no trepidation when changing money, no commission charged by exchange bureaus. What a relief!
So how are people getting used to the new currency? We have generously been given a calculator by the Bank of Slovenia, so that people can calculate in Slovenian Tolar (just for comparison), or to ensure that they are not being ripped off.
Still, what happened is consistent with what some of the seers initially predicted—the prices of goods and services have gone sky-high almost everywhere, but unfortunately the salaries remain the same. Most shops have raised prices by 20 percent, not to mention the restaurants and pubs.
The other side of the proverbial coin isn’t as shiny as it might have seemed in the beginning. The Slovenian Consumers’ Association has reported 1,300 increases in the prices in a month: beer has gone up by 16%, non-alcoholic drinks by 9%, wine and other alcoholic drinks by 3%, coffee and tea by 69%. At the top of the list we find coffee with an 85% increase and, way ahead, cloakroom services with a 140% increase.
And if this isn’t enough, the shops and post offices have stocked themselves with coin purses and wallets for the new currency. Ridiculous! We had coins before. At the check-out’s, shop assistants are doing two jobs: charging for goods and sorting out the coins in people’s hands. In certain supermarkets, you can’t get a shopping trolley if you don’t have 50 cents, or ironically, a 5-Tolar coin.
We can’t blame them, really. They seized the day. They were striking profits in their heads while the nation was sleeping the sleep of the innocent, dreaming about the new living standard and prosperity.
What has the Euro brought to other countries on the fifth anniversary of its official adoption this year?
Ireland has much higher inflation and rate of unemployment. Many Germans are still longing for their Deutsche Mark—60 per cent of them would like to have it back. The same is in Italy. They complain about the loss of business and reminisce about their Lira. In Greece poverty in certain areas has increased. In the Czech Republic they cling to their Koruna and don’t want to let go.
Slovenian people are shedding crocodile tears while saying farewell to their currency, something they are familiar with after parting ways with the “almighty Dinar”, the currency of the former Yugoslvia.
The UK refuses to bend. They would have to be insane to agree to trade their solid Pound Sterling for the Euro. I sincerely hope they never do.
In Slovenia as well as in other countries, the adoption will bring more poverty, bigger disparities, as if the gap between the rich and the poor isn’t big enough already.
We are desperately trying to catch up with the rest of the world, and we can’t. If we have single currency, we should have the same living standard everywhere in Europe. If we truly are one for all, and all for one, how come we can still feel the old scruffy socialist system east of the Danube, and a glamorous wealthy one west of the river?
Is this what the European Union is all about?
And what happens with the country’s identity? Once the national money disappears, what next? The language? The nationality? Will we give them up too? What will the new generations know about the country’s customs, currency and geography? Haven’t we been taught that when in Rome, do as the Romans do?
The charm of travelling for me has always been in blending in, which means using the local currency, public transport, and getting to know the local customs. Handling foreign money gives me a feeling of self-importance, a feeling that I am a clever somebody in the middle of the world, being able to savor the local atmosphere, and damn proud to be part of their life, if only just for a brief moment.
Needless to say, how wonderful it is to admire the masterpieces of the mints all over the world. In many cases, coins and notes are the only portraits we have of particular rulers. And if they could tell stories, there wouldn’t be enough ink to record them all. How smart can we really be if we are going to trash it all?
I fear that we will let new generations face the future handsomely equipped to fail in the general knowledge of their country, if the country, as such, will exist at all.
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