The euro changeover timeframes and the various stages involved up to the adoption of the euro were the main topics of discussion during a seminar organised for members of the Gozitan business community at the Kempinski San Lawrenz Resort in Gozo.

The seminar was organised by Bank of Valletta in collaboration with the Gozo Business Chamber and the Gozo Tourism Association.

Addressing the seminar, senior economics officer at BOV, Peter Sant explained that Malta is currently midway through the Exchange Rate Mechanism II process. In this regard, the BOV Group has been working on euro changeover related issues for the past two years.

Mr Sant announced that the BOV Group is working on the euro changeover through a number of internal committees that cover both business and information technology functional areas. These sub committees report to an EU Steering Committee chaired by the bank?s chief executive officer. BOV is also working closely with the Malta Bankers? Association, the Central Bank of Malta and the National Euro Changeover Committee.

The seminar discussed various practical aspects that the business community has to take into consideration over the coming months leading to the adoption of the euro. BOV is recommending to small businesses to ensure that their IT and pricing systems are euro compliant.

It is also important that the process of undertaking the necessary changes to introduce euro compliant systems is tackled as early as possible in order to avoid possible unnecessary costs due to time constraints closer to e-day.

"It is recommended for every business owner to visit the National Euro Changeover Committee (NECC) web site which is the main portal of information on the euro changeover process. The NECC have prepared an interesting check list and set of guidelines for business. It is also very important the business operators consult with their national trade association," concluded Mr Sant.