Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1382687
6 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 13 JUNE 2021 NEWS JAMES DEBONO NEARLY two-thirds of the Mal- tese would like the 1c and 2c coins abolished and replaced by a mandatory rounding of prices to 0 or 5 cents, depending on which sum is closer. Support for the abolition of 1 and 2 cent coins in Malta is two points lower than that in the entire Eurozone. Support for the abolition of these two coins is highest in Slovakia (84%) and lowest in Portugal (53%), while support for retaining coins is highest in Portugal (44%) and Greece (40%). Only 31% of Maltese want to retain the two coins. Compared to 2019, more Mal- tese have made their mind on whether the two coins should be abolished. A six-point de- crease in undecided respond- ents has resulted in a three- point increase both for and against retaining the two coins. When asked to state with which euro coins they expe- rience difficulties with 84% of Maltese reported finding dif- ficulties with the 1 cent coin, 83% experience difficulties with the 2 cents coin and 74% experience difficulties with the 5 cents coin. As is the case with Germans, the Finns and the French, Maltese experience difficulties handling 20 cents coins (34%) than 10 cents coin (28%). At the end of 2017 61 billion 1 cent and 2 cents coins were produced up from 47 billion in 2012. These represented 48% of all coins minted in the Eu- rozone. In September 2020 the Euro- pean Commission launched a public consultation on the use of the 1 and 2 cent coins. Eu- ropean citizens were invited to express their views for four weeks on whether or not to abolish them through an open consultation on a dedicated website. The aim was to decide, at the end of 2021, whether a leg- islative proposal for uniform rounding rules for cash pay- ments and possibly the aban- donment of the 1 and 2 cent coins, was justified. A report published by the Eu- ropean Commission in 2018 revealed that almost half of all euro coins issued are one- and two-cent coins. The return rate of one- and two-cent coins to national central banks was the lowest for all denominations. "One-way use, a low return rate to national central banks and a steady increase in the issuance of the one- and two-cent coins all support the hypothesis that these denominations are not circulating efficiently among economic operators, but are mostly hoarded or lost," the re- port concluded. In addition to the environ- mental cost of lost coins, the European Commission also concluded that "the acquisition costs alone already exceed the face value of the coin. From a budgetary point of view, is- suing this denomination is a loss-making activity for mem- ber states." Finland already requires the final amount of purchases to be rounded up to the nearest five cents when paying in cash. Belgium passed a law in 2014 to prescribe voluntary round- ing, as did Ireland a year later. Italy has also passed legislation to impose rounding and has stopped minting one- and two- cent coins. The survey also shows that the percentage of Maltese who when buying things still con- vert the price to the national currency is declining. Only 8% say that they do so for day-to- day shopping, down from 14% in 2019. 11% still do so for ex- ceptional purposes like buying a car or a house, down from 14% in 2019. The survey shows that the notion that the euro has made travelling easier and less cost- ly is the majority view in 17 euro-area countries, with the highest scores observed in Ire- land (89%) and Malta (87%), which was 25 points higher compared to October 2019. Moreover 79% of Maltese think that introducing the eu- ro was a good thing for their country. Satisfaction with the euro was only higher among the Irish (90%) and the Finns (84%). Compared with the results from 2019, the proportion of respondents who say the euro is a good thing for their coun- try has significantly increased in 11 countries, with the larg- est increases seen in Lithuania (+21 pp) and Malta (+11 pp). 43% of the Maltese also think that the euro made them feel more European than before. In all Eurozone countries only 30% said that the euro makes them feel more European than before. Down with the coppers! 65% want euro cents abolished Majority favour rounding of prices to 0 or 5 cents and abolition of one- and two-cent coins Support for abolition of 1 and 2 cents Slovakia 84% Ireland 83% Finland 78% Italy 76% Belgium 74% Estonia 71% Netherlands 71% Lithuania 69% Germany 66% Malta 65% France 63% Luxembourg 63% Austria 63% Slovenia 62% Spain 58% Greece 58% Latvia 57% Portugal 53% Compared to 2019, more Maltese have made their mind on whether the two coins should be abolished