Immediately after the introduction of the euro, there were already complaints in Croatia about higher prices as a result of price rounding. Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said via Twitter that the introduction of the euro “is no reason to raise prices for goods and services”. The government has made it clear that it will not tolerate unwarranted price increases, Croatian media reported.
Rounding up when converting
Croatia has been part of the eurozone since January 1st. The introduction of the euro, which replaced the former national currency, the kuna, took place without major difficulties. However, citizens complain that prices in euros are higher than a few days ago, when the old currency was still used. According to the consumer protection association, consumers are reporting visible price increases, especially for coffee and baked goods, because prices were rounded when they were converted.
“This happened in all countries that joined the euro zone – we saw it in Slovenia, Austria and Italy,” said Ana Knezevic, from the consumer protection association of the Index news portal. She added that the authorities had been advised that Croatia would not be an exception.
Government wants to prevent fraud
Meanwhile, Economy Minister Davor Filipovic stressed that the rise in prices due to the introduction of the euro is unacceptable. The minister met today with representatives of retail chains. “I said to retail chains and I say to everyone who wants to take advantage of this situation at the expense of citizens – it will not pass,” said Filipovic. He announced possible measures to protect consumers. “Everything is on the table – from blacklists to maximum prices on a wide range of products,” he said.
The wholesalers defend themselves against the accusations and declare that they respected the rounding of prices prescribed in the conversion to the euro. According to the media, the head of the dealers’ association, Martin Evacic, said that prices had risen in parallel with the introduction of the euro for other reasons.