Apparently the Slovak Parliament passed a law on September 16 that will allow the government to regulate prices if they believe price hikes after the change over are unjustified.

This has businesses a bit miffed… They say, of course, that the market will take care of any irregularities, and that government intervention would only delay a major spike.

The cost of food and fuel has already been climbing, and the main question is, how will the government judge if the price hike was valid due to market fluctuations or just to take advantage of the move to the euro?

As of August 24, all signs with pricing must be listed in both Slovak Crowns and euros. After traveling through three other countries with three different currencies, it’s nice to see something familiar.

This price regulation law will go into effect on November 1, and it stipulates that the government can regulate prices if it detects signs of unjustified price hiks and speculation.

But it also give the government the power to regulate prices if they climb above “what it considers optimal.”

Of course, the government says it would only do so after throrough scrutiny, but that’s not really any consolation to businesses.

The euro goes into effect on January 1, and it will only be a matter of time before we hear more about this new law.

Sara Nunnally
Editor, Taipan Trader
http://blog.taipanpublishinggroup.com/