| Is Cyprus ready for the EURO? |
| yes |
|
66% |
[ 6 ] |
| no |
|
33% |
[ 3 ] |
|
| Total Votes : 9 |
|
| Author |
Message |
Bullika Warnings : 1 Ministerial

Joined: 29 Sep 2005 Posts: 3025 Location: World
|
|
Are we ready for the euro? AKEL seems to think 2009 is a better year, do you think it would make a lot of difference?
| Quote: |
AKEL launches new attack on euro
By Jean Christou
LEFT-wing coalition partner AKEL yesterday launched a new attack on the introduction of the euro, as the government officially inaugurated its campaign to get read for eurozone entry on January 1, 2008.
AKEL wants euro entry postponed until 2009, saying it will affect the public, which is not ready for the changeover. ...... |
full article
Unfortuntely if I just provide the link, tomorrow people will no longer be able to read this article, that is why I pasted it here.
mod note: if you put the correct link, we can
edited your post
How do I do that?
Last edited by Bullika on Mon Jun 05, 2006 10:54 pm; edited 1 time in total |
|
| Back to top |
|
city
Site Admin

Joined: 15 Aug 2005 Posts: 3370 Location: Larnaca area
|
|
another artivle on the same issue:
http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=26146&archive=1
| Quote: |
| ENTRY into the eurozone is a one-way street for Cyprus and the biggest priority of the government since EU accession itself, President Tassos Papadopoulos said yesterday................ |
I personally think, neraly everything will be more expensive once the Euro is introduced. Thats what happened here in Germany  |
|
| Back to top |
|
andytandreou
Senior Villager

Joined: 09 Oct 2005 Posts: 239 Location: Larnaka
|
|
@ city
Cyprus is a unique case. One important significant factor is reversed in our case, and that is the value of the Cyprus pound. The CYP is stronger than the Euro and Cyprus is the only country (incl. the UK and Malta) in the Eurozone to have a stonger currency.
A can of coke in Cyprus will go from 50 cyprus cents to 75 Euro-cents.
Contrast this to France where a can of coke went from 200FF (for example) to 75 Euro-cents.
All else being equal, Cypriots will see the TRUE prices of Cyprus products and many believe prices may go down by as much as 3% accross the board. This is what Nicos Shacolas (the owner of borth Airports, Ermes Dept stores, Wollworth and Debenhams) stated in a recent interview.
The truth is that prices are psychological and cost has little significance if any. In Cyprus prices will "appear" to rise by moving to the new currency, but they won't. |
|
| Back to top |
|
Xenos 2Fan Warnings : 5 Ministerial

Joined: 16 Aug 2005 Posts: 3499 Location: Dallas,Texas/Mersin, Turkey
|
|
| city wrote: |
another artivle on the same issue:
http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=26146&archive=1
| Quote: |
| ENTRY into the eurozone is a one-way street for Cyprus and the biggest priority of the government since EU accession itself, President Tassos Papadopoulos said yesterday................ |
I personally think, neraly everything will be more expensive once the Euro is introduced. Thats what happened here in Germany  |
Everything in Turkey spiked up as well city....and we are not even in the EU yet. Just in the auditioning stage. |
|
| Back to top |
|
cannedmoose Warnings : 4 Moderator

Joined: 12 Aug 2005 Posts: 5357 Location: National Forest, England
|
|
| andytandreou wrote: |
@ city
Cyprus is a unique case. One important significant factor is reversed in our case, and that is the value of the Cyprus pound. The CYP is stronger than the Euro and Cyprus is the only country (incl. the UK and Malta) in the Eurozone to have a stonger currency. |
Just to clear up a slight misconception. Just because the CYP£ has a 'higher' value than the Euro does not necessarily mean it is a stronger currency. The strength of a currency is not measured simply by its relative value. Given that the Cyprus exchequer would have to support the CYP£ in the event of speculation and has very limited funds to do so, it is in reality quite a weak currency.
To understand this, you only have to look at the example of the Turkish lira, which was revalued from millions of lira to the Euro to just a few lira to the Euro. Its weakness is being revealed by the speed at which the currency is dropping away. The value of the Cyprus pound will certainly be a factor psychologically, but economically its relative value vs. the Euro is of little consequence, it's the movement of this value that matters. |
|
| Back to top |
|
Bullika Warnings : 1 Ministerial

Joined: 29 Sep 2005 Posts: 3025 Location: World
|
|
| city wrote: |
another artivle on the same issue:
http://www.cyprus-mail.com/news/main.php?id=26146&archive=1
| Quote: |
| ENTRY into the eurozone is a one-way street for Cyprus and the biggest priority of the government since EU accession itself, President Tassos Papadopoulos said yesterday................ |
I personally think, neraly everything will be more expensive once the Euro is introduced. Thats what happened here in Germany  |
i know, i realised on my last visit to germany that a visit to karstadt or kaufhof is not cheap as peanuts anymore |
|
| Back to top |
|
Bullika Warnings : 1 Ministerial

Joined: 29 Sep 2005 Posts: 3025 Location: World
|
|
| andytandreou wrote: |
@ city
Cyprus is a unique case. One important significant factor is reversed in our case, and that is the value of the Cyprus pound. The CYP is stronger than the Euro and Cyprus is the only country (incl. the UK and Malta) in the Eurozone to have a stonger currency.
A can of coke in Cyprus will go from 50 cyprus cents to 75 Euro-cents.
Contrast this to France where a can of coke went from 200FF (for example) to 75 Euro-cents.
All else being equal, Cypriots will see the TRUE prices of Cyprus products and many believe prices may go down by as much as 3% accross the board. This is what Nicos Shacolas (the owner of borth Airports, Ermes Dept stores, Wollworth and Debenhams) stated in a recent interview.
The truth is that prices are psychological and cost has little significance if any. In Cyprus prices will "appear" to rise by moving to the new currency, but they won't. |
i seriously doubt prices will go down, the euro is a great opportunity for companies to put up prices by a few cents here and there. |
|
| Back to top |
|
Alexios
Mukhtar/is

Joined: 20 Oct 2005 Posts: 976
|
|
| The answer to the question itself is yes, Cyprus is ready for the Euro, as all economic indicators / criteria are met.Whether prices will go up is a completely different question.Usually, prices go up as a direct result of unscrupulus businessmen "rounding up" prices in an upward manner(Re:Greece) I believe we are a small enough country to keep strict control over these kind of things. |
|
| Back to top |
|
andytandreou
Senior Villager

Joined: 09 Oct 2005 Posts: 239 Location: Larnaka
|
|
| cannedmoose wrote: |
| Just to clear up a slight misconception. Just because the CYP£ has a 'higher' value than the Euro does not necessarily mean it is a stronger currency. |
Moose, I use the term "strong" very loosely. I don't actually mean the Cyprus pound has some kind of "political power" behind it, like maybe the Euro or Sterling but I only meant to stress that the CYP gets you more Euro's per unit than the old Greek Drachma did for example.
That unavoidably means that an item will SEAMING LY go up in price. A can of coke will cost almost one Euro as opposed to just fifty cents like it does now. This will introduce the tendency to reduce prices. Let's face it, McDonald's is not going to abandon it's 99cent menu. It will lower its prices because not many people will be tempted by the "1.37 Euro menu", same goes for furniture, cars etc which have psychological prices like £6995 or £995 or £2995. |
|
| Back to top |
|
depurple Warnings : 1 Ministerial

Joined: 06 Dec 2005 Posts: 2876 Location: Australia
|
|
I think once Cyprus is in the Euro zone then everything will fall into perspective: You can easily wok out IF you are being ripped off or not:
As for us Aussies it makes no difference our currency can only be used as a Table Napkin OR Dunny paper:
Cheers |
|
| Back to top |
|
andytandreou
Senior Villager

Joined: 09 Oct 2005 Posts: 239 Location: Larnaka
|
|
| depurple wrote: |
| I think once Cyprus is in the Euro zone then everything will fall into perspective: You can easily wok out IF you are being ripped off or not: |
I will use a caluculator for everything i buy, there is strong competition and if a supermarket is charging more for milk than it did before the Euro I wll go somewhere else.
I have another little theory which i think might play out in Cyprus. I believe that the Euro being "weaker" than the CY/P will allow more scope for competition than we had before. For example, Cyta and Areeba both offer text messages for 1cent each, When the Euro comes SMS will cost 2 cents and will give Areeba a chance to further compete with more reductions or special offers if it wants. Now its impossible to offer text messages for half a cent! Same goes for Internet providers who have never dropped their prices below £12 for a month of Internet service. When the Euro comes they might be tempted to offer Internet for 19.95-Euro, which will actually be lower than current prices. Who knows  |
|
| Back to top |
|
Dhavlos Warnings : 1 Site Admin

Joined: 13 Aug 2005 Posts: 4697 Location: Birmingham
|
|
I think you may find prices being rounded up, like in many other EU countries.
So for your MacD example, instead of saying 99cents(euro), (when the actual conversion price is 1.37), it mayget rounded up to €1.50...if yu see what i mean
at least, it will probably happen in smaller shops/touristy places anyway. |
|
| Back to top |
|
pg
Deputy

Joined: 17 Jan 2006 Posts: 1485 Location: Cyprus
|
|
| 5 euro for a cup of coffee will be a bit tough though... |
|
| Back to top |
|
city
Site Admin

Joined: 15 Aug 2005 Posts: 3370 Location: Larnaca area
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|