People began inquiring about the anonymous advertisements to local newspapers and the Bank of Latvia a few days later. "I was worried about a monetary reform coming up again,"said Zenta Klavina, a 60-year-old retiree. "All my savings became worthless when rubles were changed to lats. But I don't have much to save now as my pension is just enough to survive on."
"We received a few phone calls from people inquiring as to who placed these ads,"a secretary at the Riga-based Russian-language business daily Bizness&Baltija told The Baltic Times. "We didn't get as many calls from ordinary people, it was mainly journalists who were calling,"said Kristaps Otersons, deputy spokesman for the Bank of Latvia. "People were asking if these ads had any connection with the lat, the national currency, and the central bank."
It was announced Aug. 31 that the campaign was being run by Parex, a local bank, which wanted to remind the public of the introduction of the euro in EU countries starting next January and to advertise the bank's services, free of charge, in converting deposits currently held in European national currencies into euros.
As of Jan. 1, 2002, national currencies will be exchanged into euros in each of 12 European Union countries, and the euro zone countries will begin using the currency in cash settlements. So far, the euro has been used only for non-cash settlements. In Latvia, local banks will exchange, though not free of a service charge, any of the 12 European currencies into euros.
Prime Minister Andris Berzins voiced dissatisfaction with Bank of Latvia President Einars Repse over the fact that the advertisement's aim was not properly explained to the people. "I can reassure everybody that money in Latvia won't be changed - the lat will stay, everything is stable and will be so in the future,"Berzins said in a state radio interview on Aug. 30. He said these ads were "mentally traumatic"to many people.
Otersons said that Parex Bank informed the central bank about the planned campaign. "It was in unequivocal advertising language. We thought that misunderstandings were impossible,"he said. Parex Bank considers its campaign a successful one. "We managed to attract attention to the introduction of the euro currency,"said Levs Fainveics, the bank's press secretary.
Despite its good intentions, the campaign has not made European Union institutions happy. The European Commission's delegation in Latvia, in a written statement to the media, distanced itself from the Parex campaign. The EC delegation, which represents the EU in Latvia, also said the use of the European Union's flag in the outdoor posters of Parex Bank's campaign had not been coordinated with the EC. "Although we believe that informing Latvia's society about the introduction of the euro in (most) EU countries as of Jan. 1, 2002, is needed, we still want to point people's attention to the fact that the EC delegation in Latvia does not have anything to do with this advertisement,"the delegation's statement read.
Spokeswoman for the EC delegation in Latvia Zaneta Ozolina said the EU flag since last year is being used mostly as a symbol affirming involvement in the EU projects. "It doesn't mean that use of EU symbols is prohibited, but it nevertheless should be coordinated when it's used in advertisements by a private company,"Ozolina told BNS.
She added, though, that there are no strict rules concerning the use of the EU flag in such cases but stressed the need to consult the EC delegation in Latvia in similar cases.
The previous monetary reform in Latvia was made in two stages - in May, 1992, the Russian ruble bank notes were changed to the so-called Latvian rubles at a 1 to 1 exchange rate. The Latvian rubles were then changed for lats, 1 lat for 200 rubles, on March 5, 1993. Unfortunately, more than 30 million lats ($48.39 million) kept in over 1 million saving accounts in the Latvian Savings Bank, together with savings people had stashed away at home, lost their purchasing power overnight.
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