Reaction in Other Euro-Zone Countries Much More Subdued as Consumers Seem Unaware of Increases

Few other countries in the euro-zone have had such a heated debate about euro-related price hikes as Germany. The Germans have even renamed the new currency the Teuro, playing on the German word teuer for expensive.

Elsewhere, restaurant owners and some service providers have pushed up prices, but the outcry has been more muted, and no new words have been coined to describe the phenomenon. The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung has carried out soundings to find out whether the euro has been responsible for price increases in some other euro-zone countries.

France: There has been no public debate over price increases in France. However, in Paris some businesses have used the opportunity to increase prices. Restaurateurs, in particular, have sometimes sharply raised their prices. Otherwise, retailers have merely rounded off slightly. Some public services have even become cheaper. Horse-racing fans have been among those adversely affected, if only temporarily, by the euro. Income from betting on horses dropped at the start of the year, but the figure is now starting to rise again. (Gerald Braunberger)

Spain and Portugal: Despite disappointingly high inflation rates, euro price hikes have not been a serious issue in Spain or Portugal. That may have something to do with the absence of any play on words involving the two words "euro" and "expensive" in either language. But the euro itself still gets a positive reception. The main drawback in Spain, however, has been the difficult calculation from euros into pesetas (€1 equals 166 pesetas [EuroTracer's Comment: that means 1000 pesetas equal €6, which is not difficult to calculate]). Some shoe retailers and hairdressers could not resist the temptation to take advantage of their customers' poor arithmetic skills and to round up prices. There was also a drastic price increase in hotels and restaurants. Despite a relatively high inflation rate of 3.6 percent, most observers agree that this is due not so much to the euro but to poor competition in many sectors. (Michael Psotta)

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