No one's salary or pension will be reduced after the adoption of the euro. What they are now in leva, such will be their value in euro. The exchange rate for converting leva to euro is fixed. This was explained in “The Day Begins“ on BNT former Social Minister Hristina Hristova.
According to the former Social Minister, the adoption of the single European currency is one part that we need to complete in our European integration.
„It is very ugly to abuse people's fear of the unknown, of the fact that some people are not obliged to be aware of these financial transformations, of the institutions of the state and the EU, and try to manipulate them in this way“, commented Hristova.
She explained that people are worried that their pension will be reduced after the adoption of the euro, which is not the case. She gave an example of a woman who stopped her:
„Ms. Hristova, they said that my pension will be reduced by 100 leva. I asked her: And why? She said - because of the euro. She told me what her pension was and I explained to her that it would increase by 8.6% from July 1st and it would be the same before the euro. It would be the same after the euro – it would just be in euros“, explained Hristina Hristova.
In this regard, Hristova emphasized that our country has had a fixed exchange rate to the euro for a long time. She categorically explained that there would be no change in people's salaries.
„Many people ask themselves: Will the employer not take advantage of reducing the salary and labor costs? I would say that this is also not possible, or if it is possible – it is for some other individual reasons in the contract. This means changing people's employment contracts, having a new negotiation... I was asked whether the employer would not take advantage of rounding up the salary a little in his favor and to the detriment of the employee when he receives it in euros – it is not possible. We have a fixed exchange rate. And we are one of the few countries in which our currency has been fixed to the euro for so long. So it is clear how the money will be converted from leva to euro“, explained Hristina Hristova.
The transition to the euro will not change anything in the social system, Hristina Hristova is categorical. She specified that there will be no change in social payments for people with disabilities.
The labor market will be stimulated with jobs, commented Hristina Hristova.
The former social minister gave Lithuania as an example and the fact that five years after the adoption of the euro, incomes there have increased by 115%.