(15 Jan 2002)

1. Petrol station
2. Various of cars at petrol station
3. Screen indicating petrol price
4. Man complaining as he looks at the price of the petrol
5. SOUNDBITE (Albanian) Shefqet Mujku, petrol customer:
"Prices now have gone so high, such as diesel. Before the Euro took over, the price of diesel was one DM 30 (Deutschmarks) and now it is one and a half DM. This is very high."
6. Cutaway of man holding receipt in hand
7. SOUNDBITE (Albanian) Shefqet Mujku, petrol customer:
"Considering the wages and the prices, the life standard is very low. This increase of the prices is unbearable for us."
8. Various of customers paying with Deutschmark
9. Various of bakery and woman stacking shelves with bread
10. Prices of bread
11. Exterior of Kosovo Banking and Payment Authority
12. SOUNDBITE (English) Agron Dida, Bank Manager:
"The businesses should take care about the prices, but cannot round the prices up. This is the only thing they are not allowed to do - to increase the price."
13. Various of people in bank line
14. Various of people waiting at bank
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Mike Todd, European Union Spokesman:
"Clearly, there are some difficulties, but partly this is with the environment here. Those include a slight insecurity amongst the retailers. The confusion over dual prices, we have seen some attempts over the increases of prices but this is unrelated to the introduction of the euro. We made clear to customers that any price increase is due to tricky practises of the businesses and nothing to do with the introduction of the euro currency."
16. People leaving the bank

STORYLINE:

Two weeks after the introduction of the euro in Kosovo, support for the currency has waned as prices of everyday goods have increased.

Approximately 500 (M) million euros were injected into the province's economy.

But so far, Kosovars have continued to use Deutschmarks, the currency they switched to after NATO and the UN took control of the area in 1999.

Many say their reluctance to use euros is due to the huge price increases in the province's shops.

Food and petrol have increased dramatically - with the price of bread rising nearly 40 percent since the currency was introduced on January 1.

An EU spokesman placed the blame for the price rises firmly at the door of local businesses, saying the hikes were due to "tricky practices of the businesses and nothing to do with the introduction of the euro currency".

Kosovo was the first region outside the euro zone to officially introduce the currency.

From January until March 2002, the Deutschmark and euro will circulate together in the internationally-run protectorate.

From March, the euro will become the only convertible currency in Kosovo, although the Yugoslav dinar will also be accepted.

The EU has launched a campaign to familiarise Kosovars with the new currency and to encourage them to open bank accounts.

A traditional mistrust of banks has led to a thriving trade for money dealers in Kosovo and local authorities are worried that dealers will exploit the currency changeover period by circulating counterfeit notes and coins.

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